Gohan's Moving Castle
by peekapika83
Summary: Trunks is just an unassuming clockmaker who gets caught up in the troubles of the Wizard Gohan.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Trunks leaned over the edge of his workbench, staring intently through the large magnifying glass. Delicate cogs and springs performed a precise and interwoven theater under his expert fingers. The ivory and gold inlay of this particular watch bespoke of a dance as old as time itself. Trunks probably would have blushed if not for the fact that he was a man totally engrossed in his work, perfection demanded for the task and by himself. He frowned as the light in the room became less than ideal, looking up to see a thick cloud of sooty smoke billowing from the train that ran beneath his window. He sighed, vacillating between an additional light source or just waiting for the air to clear.

It was in that moment that a soft knock sounded against his door, followed by Bernard, who informed him that they were closing up early for the day, owing to the festival.

"Ok, let me just finish this up, I'm so close to completing it that it'd be a shame to leave it sit" Trunks replied. He hated unfinished projects.

"Are you sure, sir? It wouldn't do to miss the unveiling this afternoon..." Bernard reminded him.

"Yes, I remember," Trunks glanced at the plain and purely functional clock that was hanging against his own wall, "I have plenty of time."

…...

Less than an hour later, Trunks had finished up his latest work of art and science; his watches and clocks were always in high demand due to their unusual precision. Over the years, many customers had joked about how his time pieces just seemed to naturally make them more punctual. Speaking of punctual, he glanced at the clock again. Perfect, he still had time to make it to the unveiling of the latest marvel commissioned by their King. Many years had gone into the making of an enormous astronomical clock for the Kings' Palace, and he couldn't wait any longer to have a chance at admiring the foreign work up close.

He locked the door behind him as he set out from the shop, wading into the mass of people clogging the streets. After just a few blocks, he decided to turn off of the main corridor, opting for a shortcut through the more narrow alleys. Surely the congestion couldn't be as bad in there. He was right – the passageways were empty and deserted, except for a few soldiers here and there, but that was to be expected. He couldn't help shaking the odd feeling that someone was watching him though – several times he thought he caught a glimpse of some dark form out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to confront it though, it was gone.

Trunks was trying to walk forward towards his destination, while focusing on his peripheral vision, when he ran smack into an outstretched hand. He stood blinking for a moment at the hand on his chest, when it pulled back and wrapped itself through his arm.

"I'd watch where I was going a little more closely, if I was you" blonde hair said with a confident smile, "What's your name?"

"I'm Trunks, though it's not so much where I'm going, as where I've been that's concerning me most at the moment" he said while still looking from side to side.

"Ah, I see... Well, allow me to be your escort then" he said, pulling Trunks to his side and continuing down the alley. He leaned in to whisper to him as they walked, his voice deep and steady.

"I'm so sorry, but it seems you are involved; stay close and do as I do" he said as blackened, misshapen forms burst from the shadows and cracks behind them. He took a quick right as the road ahead of them filled with the oozing, ghost-like forms as well. They swirled and advanced, remaining individuals but moving as one force. Trunks' eyes widened as the path ahead of them was closed off by the nightmarish forms as well, with no other avenue of escape. The blonde did not slow his pace though; in fact quickening it, and whispering in a low husky voice, "When I say, jump."

Trunks wasn't sure if his reply took on any audible tone, or if all he did was shake his head, but the other man seemed to take his acquiescence as a given. Just before they would have slammed head on into the writhing mass, the order was given, "Jump!" and Trunks did his best to comply, feeling ridiculous yet overwhelmed with the lack of alternatives all at once. They soared into the air above the alley, Trunks unconsciously clinging to his strange savior as they rose farther and farther above the rooftops.

"Now, straighten out your legs – yes, that's good, and begin to walk. There you go. Perfect Trunks, you're a natural" his fair-haired companion exclaimed with a smile as they began striding through the air in unison. The brightly colored coat that hung over the stranger's frame billowed out in the breeze. He held both of Trunks' hands, guiding him with an arm around his shoulders as they skipped off the rounded spire of an ornate building. A large number of people bustled about at the festivities below them, though none spared a glance up into the afternoon sky. Thankfully. Across the square, a large hotel loomed ahead of them. Those steady arms stayed around him as they strode their airy path all the way across the square.

Trunks was deposited on the balcony of the hotel with an astonished, beaming expression, turning to stare openly as the man spoke to him again.

"I'll draw them off for you, but don't leave this place for at least 15 minutes" he both offered and commanded.

"Thank you!" Trunks just barely remembered to shout as the man dropped down off the edge of the railing, their eyes locked until he disappeared from sight below. Trunks ran to the edge to see what became of him, but there was no sign that he'd ever been there at all. It was only then that he realized he had forgotten to ask the man his name.

…...

Trunks was not going to let a little thing like being chased by strange monsters, saved by a beautiful stranger, and flying over the city with said stranger, keep him from seeing the astronomical clock. He waited the required amount of time, then shook his head to clear it, and set off again. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, not that any of the other things he had just experienced weren't... He hoped they were, except for maybe meeting that strange man. And now that he thought about it, flying wasn't so bad; terrifying, to be sure, but exhilarating as well. Trunks paid little heed to the chatter and gossip going on around him as he walked, lost in his own thoughts.

"On sale? Really? I must head over there this afternoon..."

"And the neighboring kingdom's prince went missing shortly afterward..."

"But Mommy, I want the same one John has!..."

Trunks was in danger of running into the edge of an enormous platform in his distraction, but the shadow it cast was enough of a sensory shift to break him of his trance a few feet beforehand. He blinked up at it, realizing he had finally reached his destination.

The clock was as large as a house, being meant to grace the royal palace, and was the most beautiful and intricate thing he had ever beheld. The face was a smooth surface of ivory curves, accented by marbled shades of night and bordered with gold in between. The lines and forms were flawless, every angle precise. The numbering was accomplished in a mix of the same darker marble set in a relief against polished gold. The smaller ring displayed an elegant contrast against all that black and white, being made of a cobalt blue that shone in the sun, with it's symbols done in ivory white. Many people passed by; steam powered carriages dropped off scores of them during the course of the afternoon. Most were only sparing it a glance or two though, but Trunks stood transfixed by it's grandeur.

He was reluctant to leave the display, until he realized that evening was upon him and he could no longer make it back to the shop before nightfall. Even his hurried steps were light and full of a happy energy. The events of the day whirled in his mind, and before he knew it he was home. He came in through the front door of the shop, being that it was the only one that lead directly to the street. Not wanting to traverse the rest of the way through the building in darkness, he lit one of the lamps in the display room, intending to take it with him. He was stopped by the soft tinkling of the bell on the shop door. He turned, perplexed, to see a tall, almost hauntingly beautiful woman dressed entirely in black coming towards him.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but the shop is closed, I could have sworn I locked that door..." he said the last part as a mumble under his breath.

"What a gaudy display you have here, I've never seen a stodgy little shop before," she said as she sauntered further into the room, "but you're by far the most inelegant thing in here."

Trunks bristled, not for the personal insult, but to hear his pieces referred to in such a fashion; his clocks and watches were classic and tastefully elaborate, sought after over the whole city.

"As I said, we're closed, you'll have to leave now," he said striding past her and to the front door, holding it open for her, "the door is over here ma'am" he continued when she didn't move. Two figures moved up, barring the exit – they were a pair of the dark forms that had chased him earlier, only disguised in human attire.

"Standing up to the Witch of the Waste, that's bad for your health" she said as her eyes began to glow. Trunks was caught between the darkness and the witch.

"The Witch of the Waste! You're Videl!?" he gasped as an ethereal glow enveloped her entire being, casting her form in a dark light as if she were a negative of herself. The ghostly image sped toward him with a blast of wind as he unconsciously ducked behind his arm, but she passed right through him as if she were a real specter. Becoming solid again as she passed out the door, she turned to spout one last taunt at his huddled form.

"The best part about that spell is, that you can't tell anyone about it. Give my regards to Gohan."

The bell on the door tinkled merrily as it was slammed shut. Trunks stayed huddled in fear for a few moments, before the shock wore off and he dared to believe she really was gone. He straightened slowly, his joints aching – he must have tensed up too quickly during the attack, he was sore all over now. Or maybe it was an after effect of whatever spell she had cast upon him. He looked down to flex his fingers slowly, they ached as if he'd been sitting at his workbench for a lifetime, when he saw an old man's shriveled hands before him. He cried out in shock and disbelief, hands immediately going to his face. He felt the sagging skin and worn features there roughly as he hurried over to the mirror in the back room.

His normally lavender, shoulder length hair, was a gray so faded it looked almost white, and he was at least a foot shorter, stooped over and unable to stand tall as he once did. He had also gained weight and several age spots.

"That can't be me" the strange old-timer declared to him. His eyes widened, taking a step back and then turning to head back to the display room.

"Just stay calm Trunks" he spoke to himself. He made it to the doorway between the two rooms before having to turn around and check his reflection one more time. He peered slowly into the mirror's field of vision, and an old man peeked at him from the edge of the frame. A sharply indrawn breath and he was flustered all over again.

"You need to stay calm, just think this through..." he muttered to himself as he wandered (slowly) from room to room, no purpose in his movements, just a restless disbelief. He finally decided he couldn't stay awake just aimlessly worrying any longer, his tiring day getting the best of him, and he settled down for the night's sleep. As he was drifting off, a sudden moment of clarity hit him.

Tomorrow I'll go see about getting this sorted out, if a witch cast it, then a witch should be able to break it... he thought as he drifted off.

…...

Trunks woke early, before any of the shops' employees arrived. This place and all of them had meant a lot to his grandfather, the man who had founded it and who he now closely resembled, and he didn't want to alarm any of them if he didn't have to. After eating breakfast and packing himself a lunch for later, he set out; leaving a hasty note to explain his absence. The local fortune teller had a reputation for skill in the magical arts, he would see her and pay whatever it took to get this accursed, well, curse off of him. She was not known for her punctuality though, in fact just the opposite; so Trunks knew he might have a long day of waiting ahead of him.

Urani Baba's House of Fortunes had no open or closed sign, it was just understood to be there. Sometimes the handle turned, sometimes not. Today it turned, to Trunks' great relief. One hurdle at a time. Just the walk over here had taken far more energy than he would have thought possible. He would have to take one of the public steam-trolley's back at this rate. The inside of the building was dank and deserted. He did notice a bell on the counter that said "Ring for Service" below it, so he picked it up and gave it a sound ringing. Nothing happened. He was contemplating another ring after a few minutes, when a short pudgy man came in from behind the counter. Trunks stood and came forward at the man's beckoning.

"What is your business here?" he asked in a cracked voice.

"I need to see Urani Baba about a fortune" he answered.

The man looked him up and down, then nodded.

"Go ahead and take a seat, she'll be with you when she's ready."

"How much is it? To read a fortune?" Trunks asked.

"Depends on the fortune, she'll let you know once she sees you."

"Oh, ok..." Trunks sat down, understanding from their conversation that his fortune would be read on her time, not on his, so he settled down to wait. He was there most of the day, it wasn't until that afternoon when she finally came/called him in. Her price was pretty steep, but this was magic they were talking about, it couldn't be defined in normal terms... Baba closed her eyes, and the mist within her crystal ball began to swirl. The mist flashed suddenly with a golden light, and Baba's eyes flew open. So you're the one, eh? She thought to herself.

"I'm sorry my good sir, but your destiny is not to be found within the confines of a sphere or magical shop, the answer, and only answer, to your problems, lies in The Waste."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Trunks had never been outside his sleepy town before. It was a large enough place that one was never truly required to leave it to obtain what one needed, so he never had. But now an incomprehensible series of events had snagged him in their wake, forcing his hand. Or feet, really. He packed that night with a slight bit of trepidation, but pushed it aside with the same business-like focus that had made his grandfather entrust him as his only heir, bypassing several other relatives, his mother included. Best not to think of that right now.

Again he was up before daylight, 'sneaking' through his own house, and out into the uncertain dawn. There was no recognition found in the helpful advice or offers given him as an old man, but as he traversed the streets, he became more and more comfortable with his new situation. When he reached the town square, he bartered for a few more items he thought he would need on his trip. Then a kindly middle aged man and his son allowed him to ride on the back of their hay wagon all the way out of town. What a relief. He thanked them sincerely, and kept on his way.

Passing the last farm house that bordered the lands that had fallen to the Waste, he was given the standard warning about witches/wizards and called foolish for his actions, but no one actually tried to stop him... The Waste was ahead, and though Trunks had absolutely no idea where in the Waste he was going, he pressed on. By that afternoon, the strange excitement he had felt earlier this morning had faded as the pain in his feet escalated. He stopped for a break and a quick snack, easing down slowly as his old joints protested. The Waste didn't seem too bad so far, it wasn't completely desolate, just void of human life. And hilly. Trunks sighed. He hadn't thought the change in terrain from city to country would have such a huge affect on him, but it did.

Fortuitously, his eyes happened to land on a perfect walking-stick shaped branch sticking out of a shrub nearby. Hoisting himself up, he walked over and tugged on it, intending for it to aid him through this rough terrain. It was definitely snagged good though, it didn't seem to want to budge. Trunks twisted it a bit, experimenting as he pulled, and soon he felt it breaking free of the shrub. It did not turn out to be the perfect walking stick though, because it was already a scarecrow. A very odd scarecrow, with a turnip for a head, that was capable of standing upright on its own... Trunks backed off a bit, seeing it standing unaided, but then smiled when it gave a slight jump and stood sideways, rigidly extended it's hand out toward him.

"You're welcome" Trunks said in response to the obvious thank you, shaking it's hand.

He walked on after his meal was over, only to find that the strange scarecrow was following him about 40 feet back.

"Go on now, shoo" he said as he made a motion with his hands, "Stop following me please, you don't owe me a thing, really... I've had just about as much magic and curses as I can take already." That seemed to work, the scarecrow paused for a moment as Trunks began to struggle up the hill again, then he bounded off down the "path", if you could call it that. Good. He just had to made it the next 20 feet or so, to the crest of this hill, then the downward face would be much less difficult – until he reached the next one that is. With a sigh he pressed on. In a few minutes though, his ears were assaulted by a familiar rhythmic tapping. He turned hesitantly as a tall shadow passed beside him, and dropped something in front of him.

It was a walking stick. It stood on its own for a moment as well, but it didn't seem to be possessed itself... Trunks reached out and grabbed the thing's duck shaped handle, grinning up at his turnip-headed friend.

"Thank you, this is just perfect."

Turnip-head hopped up and down a few times. Trunks grinned a bit wider, he _was_ grateful, but he really didn't want the hopping helper calling that much attention to him all the time...

"Say, if you don't mind doing one more thing for me, could you possibly find a place for me to stay? It is going to get awfully cold tonight..." Which was true, the wind was already blowing quite steadily, so it wasn't a complete fabrication on his part. The scarecrow seemed to think on that for a minute, then it bounded away happily. Well, Trunks thought, at least my mind hasn't degraded in old age as well... Smiling to himself, he turned back to the task at hand.

A few hours later though, he had only made it down the current hill and over the next. With evening upon him, he was no closer to whatever he might have set as a goal, and sat down exhausted. His thick coat buffeted him from the wind some, but he really did need to find shelter soon... The smell of woodsmoke caught in his nose as he rested. Maybe someone had a camp nearby... As he struggled to his feet again, he noticed a figure standing on the path a little ways up the hill from him.

"Gahh, turnip-head – don't sneak up on me like that!" Trunks admonished. Turnip-head hopped once in place, but made no other move.

"I don't suppose you found me a place to stay for the night, did you?" Trunks asked wearily. Two hops. Hmm... Against his better judgment, (which, at this point, really, what did that even mean?...) he followed his spindly friend off the edge of the path and down an embankment. A wide, clear lake awaited them at the bottom of it, sparkling in the evening sunset. Trunks stopped to admire the view, it really was spectacular, when he felt an abnormally strong gust of wind at his back. He turned, almost being blown over, to see an enormous cloud racing towards him. It passed only a few feet over top of him, heading for the lake.

Trunks continued to stare as the solid form of a misshapen, hodgepodge, magical castle stopped abruptly by the water's edge, leaving the clouds to continue on without it out over the water. It touched down, landing gracefully, and the door on the side of it burst open. Out of it spilled a spiky-haired youth, wearing a set of what were once fairly nice robes, though now they appeared dirty and unkempt. He hauled a contraption almost as big as he was from the castle, and proceeded to connect one of its hoses to the side of the building, while throwing the other out into the crystal waters. After flipping a few switches and pulling a few levers, the machine sprang to life, providing a low hum to the surrounding area.

Trunks watched with fascination as the machine gave a shudder and the hum changed to a high pitched squeal. The boy ran back to it, turning it off and standing there looking forlorn. If his guess was right, this lad must be the apprentice of the great wizard Gohan. What else could this monstrosity possibly be but Gohan's moving castle? He kept his eyes on the lad as he began fiddling with the machine, obviously not having a clue what he was doing. Trunks sighed. Gohan huh? He remembered the witch, Videl, making a comment about him... perhaps it was worth a shot...

"Hello there" he said gently to the strange boy. The boy paused, about to give the side of the thing a good swift kick, then thought better of it and turned to address the old man.

"Uh, Hi... Who are you? How did you get out here? What do you want mister?" a steady stream of questions was aimed at him.

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down there – My name is Trunks, and I couldn't help noticing as I passed by that you seem to be in need of assistance.

"Oh" the boy responded, "Yeah, I think so... Do you really think you can fix it?"

"Well, I won't know unless I try, do you think you could find me any tools to work on it with? What's your name by the way?" The boy nodded his head, and said "Sure, I'm Goten" then bounded off, back into the castle. Trunks examined the machine while he was gone – he had a pretty good idea what was wrong with it, but needed a wrench to open that section up. When Goten came back, he had a screwdriver, a hammer, and a soldering iron. This could be a problem. Trunks explained to him that he needed a wrench to open the broken part.

"What's a wrench?"

His description was obviously going right over the boys' head, but he ran off to try and find one anyway. Persistent little fellow, he'd give him that much... When he came back yet again without the correct tool, Trunks decided to take a more direct approach, heading into the castle himself after Goten left for his third attempt. The door opened freely, but it seemed like the difference between the warmth inside, and the cold outside, formed a physical barrier of sorts. He pushed through, wanting to feel the blissful warmth of indoors for at least a little while, and whatever it was seemed to give way... He had probably just imagined it.

He was distracted from his search though, by the fire looking at him from the hearth as he came in.

"What do you want?" a gruff voice addressed him. Fiery eyes squinted at him.

"Um, I'm looking for a wrench" Trunks answered uncertainly, moving closer to the little flame-being. The flame gave a 'harrumph' and light danced on the walls, illuminating dingy dust and spider webs. This was not exactly what he had expected the inside of a 'castle' to look like...

"Well, while you do that, make yourself useful and hand me another log of wood" it ordered. Trunks complied, never taking his eyes off the flame.

"Are you come kind of fire sprite or something?" he finally asked.

"Sprite?! What the hell is wrong with you? I'm a powerful and terrifying fire demon you moron!" he said while beginning to devour the wood, his flame sputtering even higher in his anger.

"Ok, no need to fly off the handle, I've just never come across anything like you before – do you have a name?" Trunks inquired.

"My name's Piccolo."

"Well," Trunks said when the flame did not ask him his back, "my name's Trunks, nice to meet you." Now that the pleasantries were out of the way, he went back to his quest for the wrench. He considered himself quite lucky to find one within 15 minutes, taking into account the complete disaster area that was the inside of the castle. As he was about to go, he threw another log of wood on, or rather to, the fire. Piccolo accepted it readily, looking up at him as he seemed to be weighing something in his mind.

"That's quite a curse you've got on you" he said at last, "looks like one you aren't allowed to speak of either... man those are nasty ones..."

"Well, you're a powerful fire demon aren't you? Can't you do anything?" Trunks asked hopefully.

"Hey buddy, I've got my own problems here, you think I like being Gohan's slave, moving this castle around and making hot water for him all the time? Tell you what, if you can find a way to break me out of this thing I'm in with Gohan, I'll see what I can do about your curse afterward..."

Trunks studied the demon for a second, trying to gauge his seriousness – then figured it couldn't hurt...

"Ok, you've got a deal, Piccolo, as long as I can stay here in the meantime (Piccolo made no move or action, so he figured that wasn't a rejection) – but first let me finish up with this machine" he smiled as he walked outside. He had the thing taken apart and cleared before Goten showed up again. He was just starting to reattach the outer panel when a small hand extended a pair of pliers to him. He took them with a shake of his head.

"Better stick to magic kid."

…...

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" … "Port Haven door."

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" … … "Port Haven door!" Piccolo called out.

Trunks groaned from his spot on the lumpy couch. Someone was at the door. He heard the patter of feet that were still child-sized scurrying down the stairs. As he pulled himself up to a sitting position, he caught a glimpse of Goten using a quick bit of magic to disguise himself as an old dwarf. The boy pulled the door open, and behind it were the Mayor and two soldiers bearing a rather official looking message.

"Is the Great Wizard Jenkins at home?" the Mayor asked politely.

"No, my master is out at the moment, is there something you would like to leave for him?" Goten asked, eying the scroll they carried.

"Yes, give him this and let him know he has been summoned by the King to help fight in the upcoming war – all witches and wizards are to report to the palace for duty."

"Alright my good sir, I certainly will, thank you" Goten responded. Trunks could see the bustle of the already awakened city out the door behind him. He felt a little bad for sleeping in so late, but no one else had been up yet either... No sooner had Goten taken off his disguise to read the announcement, then another knocking sounded on the door.

"Kingsbury door"

Goten twisted the odd colored wheel on the handle, then opened it wide, going through the exact same motions again.

"Good morning, is Master Pendragon available?"

"Not at the moment kind sirs, he's out on an errand – would you like to leave a message for him?"

"Indeed, tell him that the King has summoned all witches and wizards to aid in the fighting of the war. He is to report to the main hall at once to be assigned. Thank you." He extended out a sealed scroll, which Goten took with a small bow. And then as quickly as they came they were gone back into the traffic of the city.

Wait a minute, hadn't they been in the middle of The Waste last night? Trunks got up and stole over to the door while Goten rummaged around on the table for something. Noting the color on the wheel was red, he cautiously opened the door. The cacophony of the city greeted him. Taking a step outside, he could see the spires of the royal castle in the distance, their banners waving lazily in the morning breeze. Amazed, he went back in and turned the wheel to blue. When he opened the door again, the salty tang of the sea hit him with a whoosh as an entirely different city sprang up in front of him. Port Haven... He had never thought he would see anything of the coast. The colors and fashions of the people looked quite different from his own town, but people were people everywhere, he guessed. They still talked and laughed and smiled, just as in any place.

Back inside, he decided to try the other two colors as well. Green lead him back out to the shore by the lake, were a misty haze had yet to be burned off by the morning sun. Black though, black lead him to a void where no land or sky greeted the observer. The door was pried from his fingers and closed for him by Goten.

"Stop messing around, what are you, six?" he softly scolded him with a hand on one hip. Trunks blinked a little at the admonishment, but turned to follow him back to the table.

"Where does it lead?" he asked seriously.

"Only Master Gohan knows that" Goten replied, dismissing the subject, "Here, have some breakfast." Apparently the loaf of stale looking bread he was holding out intended to pass for that.

"Wouldn't you rather have a real breakfast, like eggs and bacon? You know, real food?" Trunks inquired.

"Well, sure, but we can't cause Gohan's not here and he's the only one who can make cooking work."

Odd choice of words. Trunks ignored it for now.

"What are you, like nine, ten years old? And you can't even cook eggs?" Trunks chided him. Goten shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm ten, but I'm not powerful enough to use the fire" he said squinting at Piccolo.

"Boo" Piccolo said in a mocking tone, staring the kid down.

"Oh brother..." Trunks mumbled as he looked around for a skillet, "How can you work like this? This place is a dump" he said, moving a stack of dirty dishes. He managed to find a spatula as well, miraculously.

"You're really going to try it?" Goten asked, excited at the prospect of a hot meal, "Let me show you where the frigid is!"

"The what?" Trunks asked as he was pulled by the sleeve into another cluttered, dirty room. This one though was different than the others in one key area. The items that were strewn around were not magical accoutrements, but parts. Pulleys and levers, gears and cogs, coils of chain and scraps of metal all jumbled together on the shelves and floor. Trunks realized these must be left overs and/or spare parts for the castle itself. The only bit of order was in the clear pathway leading to a large metal box at the back of the room.

"This is Master Gohan's frigid, he made it himself – the eggs and everything are in there" Goten explained, standing back. Trunks reached for the handle and pulled, only to be knocked back off his feet as a blast of icy air roared out of the box. Shivering, he stood to his feet and grabbed the desired items as quickly as possible, while Goten snickered and laughed off to the side.

"We'll see how funny it is to you when you don't get any breakfast" Trunks retorted. Goten stopped laughing immediately, apologizing profusely. I _should_ leave him out, Trunks thought to himself, serves him right for disrespecting his elders like that... But one look into those wide, incredibly sorry chibi eyes melted his resolve. Ok, ok, he'd give the kid a break this one time.

Back in the main living room, Trunks arranged his supplies and picked up the skillet while Goten watched apprehensively.

"Hey, don't get any idea's there – I'm the most powerful fire demon in existence, I do not _cook_" Piccolo informed him.

"Oh, I think you'll come around when the alternative is a bucket of cold water in your face... or maybe" Trunks whispered to him, "you'd like me to inform Gohan about our little deal" he winked.

"Ohhhhh, why you little, son of a... damn it!" Piccolo said as the skillet was placed over top of him. Muffled curses still came out of the now obedient fire occasionally as the bacon sizzled.

"You know, I think we could use some tea too" Trunks commented to Goten, who scurried to find the kettle. In the midst of this merriment, the whirling of the wheel on the door and small 'ding' announced the Master's arrival home. The door swung open, and the hunched-over form of golden hair made it's way through.

"Master Gohan, the kings' messengers were both here, they each say you're to report to the palace, one as Jenkins and one as Pendragon..." Goten informed him before he'd even fully ascended the stairs that lead up from the door. Gohan gave no outward sign that he'd heard the boy, though he did straighten slightly as he climbed, heading directly toward the hearth. Trunks looked at him out of the corner of his eye, recognizing him as the stranger from the other day. He decided to let Gohan be the first to speak, trying to gauge his reaction to finding and old man in his house, using his things... Gohan stopped but a hair's breath from him, the look on his face soft and slightly amused.

"Piccolo, you're being so cooperative..." he said, turning to the fire with a smile in his voice.

"Not on purpose! Gahhrrhrhh! He bullied me into it!" the flame sputtered.

"Hmm, not just anybody can accomplish a feat like that... And you are, who?" Gohan asked with a gleam in his eye.

"Uh..." Trunks thought briefly about giving some sort of fake name or identity, but what would be the point? It wasn't like he recognized him anyway – all he could do was tell the truth with those teal colored lights directed at him.

"Trunks, my name is Trunks... Piccolo sort of hired me to help out around here, in exchange for room and board kind of a thing..." he trailed off uncertainly, hoping his half-truth would go undetected for now.

"Here, give that to me," Gohan instructed him with a chuckle, placing a hand over his as he took control of the spatula, sliding it out of his grasp. Trunks let himself be displaced, not really having any choice in the matter, and decided to clear off a spot on the table to eat in the meantime. His hand tingled where Gohan had touched it – must be something to do with wizards, he decided.

"Alright, Goten, get the plates!" Gohan announced cheerfully when the eggs were done. They all sat down to eat in relative silence, Gohan politely passing out bread to everyone as utensils clicked against plates and cups clanked against the table. Half way through the meal, Gohan leaned over the table pointedly.

"So, Trunks, what have you got hidden in your pocket?" he asked with a sort of confident amusement.

"In my pocket?..." Trunks reached into it on reflex, oddly enough feeling a slip of paper in there where none should be. He pulled it out and offered it to Gohan's outstretched hand, but the crimson red note burst into flames as soon as it hit Gohan's skin, before Trunks had even let go of it. He pulled his hand back quickly, more than a little startled. Gohan didn't seem to be though, he was studying the rune it left burned into the wooden surface.

"Oh man, scorch marks... can you read them Gohan?" Goten clamored, leaning over as well. When Trunks looked back to Gohan, the air around him seemed to get thicker, and the soft tendrils of his hair were beginning to float as if buffeted by a gentle wind.

"You who swallowed a falling star, Oh heartless man, Your heart shall soon belong to me" Gohan didn't pause as he raised a hand to cover the marks, "that can't be good for the table."

"So it's from the Witch of the Waste, Videl" Goten said solemnly. The power in Gohan's hand seemed to clash with that of the mark, though as he scraped it across the table, the sparks and embers that surrounded his palm from the confrontation quickly dissipated into the air. When he pulled back his hand, there was nothing but smooth wood left beneath it.

"Wow, cool" Goten said.

"The marks may be gone, but the spell in still there... That is ancient sorcery, I'm afraid" Gohan said, not looking particularly bothered about it though.

"If you'll excuse me friends, it's better I take care of this right away" he said standing up. He dumped the scraps of his meal into Piccolo's fire, the demon incinerating them instantly.

"Piccolo, move the castle 60 miles to the west" he instructed, leaving his plate on the edge of the hearth. Trunks was beginning to see how this place got into it's current state.

"Also," Gohan added as he climbed the stairs to the second story, "get started on some hot water for my bath."

"Oh, sure, as if moving the castle wasn't enough" Piccolo grumbled in the background. Trunks tossed him a few more logs of wood, it sounded like he was going to need it.

…...

Trunks looked around the room, then at Goten licking his plate clean of the last few bits of breakfast.

"You have any plans for today?" he asked him. Goten stopped mid-lick and shook his head no.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I can't work like this... How do you even find anything?" he wondered.

"Work on what?" Goten asked. Trunks dismissed his previous question with a wave of his hand.

"It's a figure of speech kid, but either way, I'm sure you'll agree this place is a wreck." Goten nodded his head as he shrugged his shoulders as well; it was a mess, but it had always been.

"Alright, breakfast is over – it's time to get this taken care of" he said, surveying the room with his arms crossed over his chest, "first off, let's find a broom..."

Trunks enlisted Goten's help with the cleaning, mostly by default of him being a child and Trunks an adult. They sorted and stacked, cleared and dusted – but still had quite a way to go by the time lunch rolled around. Trunks was cleaning the mantle when the clock announced noon, drawing his attention away from the small turtle figurine he had just picked up. He was going to absently toss the thing, it had a broken leg and was hideous – but Goten stopped him.

"That's one of Master Gohan's most prized possessions, you can't throw that away!" he informed him.

"Well if it means that much to him he certainly has a funny way of showing it...the thing's busted. Whatever..." Trunks dusted it and placed it back on the mantle. He stretched his aching joints and called a temporary halt to the project, heading back to the frigid to see what could be done for a meal. As they sat and ate, Trunks thought there had to be a better way to get all this done... As he pondered the necessary tasks still ahead of him, he got a flash of brilliance. That spare room in the castle that was full of parts would provide plenty of resources, and he really only needed to make a few tweaks to the design of the pump he had helped Goten with yesterday... It could work... He got up from the table and began hunting for a piece of paper, to get down a rough sketch...

His first machine was really just the same principle as the pump, but it was intended to work with air, and had a filter to catch bits and particles, to keep if from getting clogged. He tested it on some low-hanging spider web off to the side, smiling with satisfaction as the whole thing was sucked in. The next design he had in mind would prove a bit trickier though...

Goten was playing in his room, Trunks had let him have the time off while he was inventing, and apparently the boy intended to use all of it on changing a frog he had found at the lake into different colors. Trunks sat in the supply room, on the floor trying to get a hose to connect properly. He didn't hear the gruff voice calling from the other room, he was so completely absorbed in his work. He finally got it hooked up the way he wanted, and brought the contraption out to the main room, just in time to see Gohan return downstairs. The man virtually floated, like he was walking on a cloud all the time. He headed straight for the hearth, picking up an ember there, and blowing gently on it as he placed it on a fresh log of wood.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't let my friend go out" he said simply, no tone of accusation – but Trunks could just tell somehow, that if Piccolo did 'go out', it would be bad...

"Of course, I'll keep a better eye on it from now on" he said.

"Thank you, Trunks – I knew I could count on you" he said with a smile.

"Lousy, moronic imbecils, leaving me all alone like that, I could have died!" the newly re-kindled flame grumbled loudly.

Gohan turned and strode across the room towards the front door, taking in the now growing collection of machinery in the living room.

"Now, don't get too carried away while I'm gone" he said to Trunks. Trunks nodded and watched him flip the color of the wheel on the door to black, open it, and step into the void. When the door closed, the wheel automatically reverted back to green. Since he was ready to test his latest invention, he called Goten down a minute later to watch him fire it up. It was a large box that hooked up to the castles' existing hot water system. Trunks loaded it with a stack of dirty dishes, added some soap for good measure, then closed it up and flipped the switch. The machine hummed and rattled a bit as the water began to squirt around inside it, and Trunks gave a cheer at the amount of physical labor it would save him from.

He felt ready for round two now, his old body having gotten a rest while his mind worked, and he began to drag the suction machine up the stairs with Goten's help. He paused in the hallway, unsure which room to start with first. His attention was caught by the tops of trees whizzing by through the window in the door to his right. Curious, he looked out to see that it lead to a balcony on the side of the castle. Pushing on the door, he stepped out into the torrent of wind, seeing that they were flying through the air at quite a pace. They were almost at the end of a little valley, and were approaching a different lake now, losing altitude in preparation for landing.

Trunks was amazed, they had been flying through the air this entire time, and if what Gohan had said earlier was true, it was Piccolo's doing. Hopped back inside for a moment, leaning over the rail on the stairs to shout down.

"Piccolo! Are you really the one moving the castle?" he called.

"Of course I am, you see any other over-worked magical beings around here?" he hollered back.

"That's incredible Piccolo, just spectacular, you've got an amazing spark!" he called down once more before heading back out to the balcony. He let the wind rip around him, standing with his arms thrown wide. Goten joined him, laughing and running around in circles beside him. Neither of them heard the pleasant crackling of the fire demon below as he digested the compliment.

As they landed on the firm ground once again, Trunks couldn't help but be a little sad, but he figured that with his life just starting here, there would be plenty of other fun to be had – besides, he really should get back to work. He was going to turn to head back inside, when Goten leaned out over the edge of the railing, calling back to him.

"What's that?" he pointed to a sort of stick jammed into one of the edifices of the castle, "that doesn't belong there, how did it even get way up here?" Trunks leaned over and grabbed hold of it, pulling up. He felt it snag on something inside, and tried turning it around a bit, finally finding an angle at which it would pull free. Once extracted, the stick turned out once again to be his friend the scarecrow.

"Turnip-head!" Trunks exclaimed, "How on earth did you get stuck in there?" Not as if he could reply though... Turnip-head bounced up and down a few times, hopping over the carapace of the castle and down to the ground.

"You know that scarecrow?" Goten asked incredulously.

"Yes, he's sort of an old friend" Trunks explained.

"Is he some sort of demon, like Piccolo?" Goten asked.

"You know, I can't say... He doesn't like to talk about himself much" Trunks joked.

"Oh" Goten nodded solemnly, completely missing the humor... Tough crowd, Trunks thought, rolling his eyes.

"Come on, we've still got a lot of work to do, and there's a few more things I'd like to experiment with if I get the chance," he told Goten, "so let's get going."

…...

After scrubbing the rooms upstairs, some of which were worse than others, like the bathroom, they headed down to the lake to try Trunks' new clothes washing invention. This was a box looking contraption as well, but inside, instead of a rack to hold the contents stationary, there were 'arms' jutting out to provide agitation to the water. Unfortunately, Trunks couldn't find all the components he needed to make the thing spin on it's own, but he was able to rig it to a bicycle-like set up so he could power it by pedal. A few clothes, hot water, and soap went into the mix, and Trunks hopped onto the seat, figuring a good 20 minutes or so would do it.

He didn't even get a chance to run out of breath though, before Goten perked his ear and asked if it was supposed to be making that sound... Trunks hopped off again, investigating – to find that apparently having the arms spin in alternating directions was not such a good idea. Each piece of clothing he pulled out was either ripped or torn in some way, having been snagged on the mechanism. One of the vests was Gohan's on top of it all... The wizard seemed pretty laid back, but after what had happened with Piccolo earlier, he was, well, a little nervous, almost – about letting him down. Not that he thought he would hurt him or anything, but he just felt inside that it wasn't something he wanted to experience. Sighing, he wrung out the clothes and washed them normally, taking great care in stitching up Gohan's vest above all the rest.

Turnip-head and Goten strung up a line to dry the clothes on, and Trunks went back inside to put the last load of dishes in his washer. When he flicked the switch though, nothing happened. Frustrated and completely worn out at this point, he cursed mildly and kicked the side of it. All of a sudden the machine sprang to life, surprising him – huh, something must have been loose, he decided to himself. Grabbing some left overs and a blanket, he headed back outside to rest by the shore of the lake. Goten ate with him while turnip-head performed clothesline duty, all three of them staring out over the water as the sun set in a blaze of color.

You know, the Waste wasn't exactly what he thought it would be... Trunks thought as he ate. His new found friends, though odd, were actually quite interesting and amusing at times – much more so than anyone he'd ever met in town. And he was looking forward to getting to know Gohan better as well; the tall and handsome wizard was nothing like he what he had expected from the stories and rumors either...

Gohan had not returned by the time that everyone was bedding down for the night. Though Goten assured him this was perfectly normal, Trunks couldn't help but feel a little bit worried. He tried to dismiss it – Gohan was a grown man, and powerful wizard to boot, he could certainly take care of himself. Trunks discovered that sleep did come easily after all; his body was more than willing to be dragged down to the depths of slumber even as his mind stayed on a certain golden haired personage.

Ironic, thought Piccolo, as the witching hour struck, that the wheel to the castle door gave a soft 'ding' and spun around to read black. The frame gave the most imperceptible of shudders as the portal opened to reveal an inky blackness. Tendrils of the dark seemed to push back against the light of the room as a form took shape in the void, pressing toward the doorway of the castle. The demons' flame-filled eyes widened – that boy was going to go too far one of these days...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When Gohan stepped into the void, the darkness heeded his will, forming and parting before him in an intricate dance, giving way to a barren night's sky, devoid of stars or moon. They were, of course, still there, but were incapable of being seen through the rising smoke and the light of the burning town below him. On the wings of his primal form, he flew over the destruction, eager to take vengeance on its perpetrators. Gohan knew that there were three sides to every story, two that naturally opposed each other, and one somewhere in the middle that was the truth. This war, however, brought a new truth to the forefront for him. The loss of innocent life, no matter from what point of view, was detestable.

This town below him was not even one of his own, geographically speaking – but the people had had no warning, being thrown from their homes by violent explosions as bombs were dropped from the safety of airships. It angered him, enraged him, to watch entire city blocks burning to the ground; all over some offense that was neither committed nor probably even known of by any of the people below.

He roared loudly as the forms of other, corrupted wizards came in to view, spewing from the port of one of the ships. His claws flexed and wings sped up, eager for battle to quench the burning within. The roiling, blackened, misshapen forms of those he would once have called comrades advanced toward him, and he cut through them like butter. Claws ripped and tore, sending numerous globule forms down to the flames. Blasts of light and heat burst from his mouth, searing wizard and ship alike.

They were not done yet though, more and more of them were pouring out of the other airships. Gohan maneuvered his flight path so that as he built up speed, he collided with a thick stream of the traitors, exploding through them as though he would stem the tide of their release, but there were just too many of them. He circled the town a few more times in remorse, still plucking the evil creatures from the sky where he could. He had done what he came to do; the lead airship had crashed quickly after being struck with his ferocious breath weapon, and many dozens of dark sorcerers would never rise again from this battle. He would have to console himself with that. He veered sharply upwards, a trail of writhing darkness following him, but they could not ascend the walls of the void, and he passed into a different kind of darkness, leaving them grasping at the air in his wake.

…...

The door of the castle vibrated in the nothingness as he approached it. It was getting harder and harder to shed this full form after battle. He opened the door with a thought. His claws had retracted and body shape normalized, but his wings and many scales still remained – the effort it was taking to transform back was quickly draining him of what strength he had left. He pushed against the barrier of the door, knowing he would still be recognized, even in this form – he needed to sit down now before he collapsed with the strain.

As he stumbled through the wooden gateway, he heard Piccolo's indrawn breath. The form of the dragon was not exactly frightening to the fire demon, but his current difficulty in changing back was. Gohan trudged up the stairs, and virtually fell into the chair by the hearth, slowly lifting his feet to be warmed by the fire's edge... he was breathing far too heavily. Piccolo was silent as he let the man concentrate, watching as suddenly the scales dropped off of him, vanishing in little puffs of smoke before they could even hit the floor, and his wings finally retreated into his back.

With the change back, Gohan's head rose from leaning backwards against the chair, and his eyes cleared; the soft smile he normally wore returned to his features. Piccolo gave him a knowing and calculated look, but didn't chide him. Instead he reached a tongue of flame out toward an oddly colored log that rested off to the side of the wide stone he called home.

"Did you see what Trunks made for me?" he asked nonchalantly, his tone for once as soft as the smile on Gohan's face. Gohan picked up one of the logs, examining it. The smile on his face widened as he listened to Piccolo continue.

"They last for hours and hours, at least 3 times as long as a normal piece of wood – and they taste pretty good too" he admitted. Gohan got up from his chair, walking over to the sleeping form of Trunks curled up on the sofa. His back was toward the room, and Gohan had to lean over a bit to see his face. The young man he had rescued from the alley was sleeping there peacefully, though his hair retained the silvery sheen of age. Gohan gently pushed a strand of it back from his cheek, noting that it seemed longer now than it had earlier this afternoon.

"Only time will tell" he whispered as he backed away, heading to his own room for some well deserved rest.

…...

The next morning, Trunks took Goten out with him to the market to get some more supplies. With their home being constantly in-transit somewhere, it made it difficult to keep chickens or pigs or such. Thankfully the magic shop fronts in both towns did a fairly lucrative business, so they could afford to simply purchase whatever they needed. Piccolo was grumbling in the background, as normal, over heating water for Gohan's bath as they left. Trunks had never been to the sea, so he chose the Port Haven door, relishing in the salty morning breeze as they waved good bye to the disgruntled demon.

At the market, he tried to get Goten to indicate what foods he and Gohan preferred, but it seemed that the both of them simply ate whatever was put in front of them. The only type food Trunks had ever heard Gohan specifically mention was dessert, but that had been rather vague as to what exact kind. Hmm... Everybody liked cake, right? Goten certainly agreed with that. He made sure to get enough flour, sugar, eggs, etc. to try his hand at one. He worked with some of the most intricate, complex machines in existence for a living, so he was fairly sure he could master baking as well; though he had never tried it before.

He was asking one of the vendors at the market how much for a giant fish, when the man's attention obviously went off of him and to something behind Trunks. Curious, he turned as well, seeing many people heading for the docks to the right of them now.

"No, it's sinking! Hurry!"

"There's been another battle, I heard it was to the west of..."

"Ellie, go fetch your mother, there's bound to be wounded among them..."

Bits of frantic conversations flowed around him as he was pulled to the scene in the mouth of the bay as well. A giant battleship was limping toward the shore, more smoke than steam billowing from it now. All the seaworthy ships at dock, no matter what size, were racing toward it, trying to save as much of it's crew as possible before the thing completely sank. It was sitting at an odd angle already from all the water it had taken on.

Trunks remained at the back of the crowd, it wasn't as if there was anything he could do to help, he had no boat or medical skills. In scanning the area around him to make sure he didn't lose Goten in the press of people, he noticed a sight that made his blood run cold. Those dark beings that had chased him in the alley were interspersed among the onlookers, disguised as regular people. How on earth did no one else notice them?

"Goten," he said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "don't look now, but the Witches' henchmen are here. I said don't look!" he practically hissed, trying to be forceful and quiet at the same time. They slowly worked their way out from the edge of the group, thankfully not drawing the beings' attention, then sprinted home as quickly as they could once out of sight. Panting, Trunks flung the door closed behind them, quite flustered and trembling a bit.

"Goten, would you put the kettle on? I think I may need some tea to calm my nerves after that" he said while explaining what had happened to Piccolo. Gohan was not even down from his bath yet, their trip had been cut that short. Goten informed him that it wouldn't have mattered, since Gohan took the longest baths of anyone in existence.

The tea had done him good, and he had just put away the last of the supplies that they had managed to make off with earlier, when there was a loud crash upstairs. Everyone stopped what they were doing, looking to the top of the stairway... Trunks was trying to decide if he should go investigate, when he was robbed of the decision by Gohan practically jumping down the flight in a rage. His anger would have been more frightening if his hair had not been a ridiculous shade of orange-ish/red, and had he not been dressed only in a towel. Water still dripped off of his nearly naked form steadily, pooling a little at his feet. Caught between three different simultaneous reactions, Trunks' brain overloaded and just froze, freezing his physical movements as well, until Gohan spoke.

"Trunks!" he yelled, "What have you done?! I told you not to get carried away!" he said, gesturing wildly with one hand, and gripping his new fashion statement with the other. Trunks blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"The bathroom, you completely messed up all my potions! Look what you've done!" he said, sticking his abnormal mane in Trunks face.

"I didn't ruin them, I just organized the place – it was filthy..." Trunks defended himself, "It's not that bad, really-" he tried to calm him down, "we can always just dye it back." Gohan, who had been already bent half over to show Trunks' his handiwork, fell to the side, collapsing into the chair in front of the hearth. He put his head in his hands, still crouched over, and the red began to recede from his hair as he gripped it. Left afterward was a black so deep that it had almost a shade of blue to it.

"You don't understand..." he mumbled to the floor. Now Trunks thought he was just being petulant.

"Pull yourself together already, so what if you're not a blonde anymore, some of us have had to deal with a lot worse than that in our lives..." he admonished him. Gohan bolted up out of the chair, his charcoal locks waving with power as his aura filled the room to bursting. Trunks had never felt anything like this chest-crushing thickness in the air before; it staggered him backwards.

"You don't understand!" Gohan's voice crescendoed with his power, "It's not about the color! The blonde was just a by-product! I'll never be able to hide from them as effectively now; now that I can't hide my true strength... Damn it!" he fumed. Piccolo spoke up from behind him.

"Oh, and I'm sure ascending in a rage while half naked will make it so much better" he said sarcastically. Gohan turned a withering gaze to the flame, who was completely unaffected by it. Blinking suddenly, Gohan's power pulled back as he looked down to find himself in nothing but the small towel. His cheeks flushed as he grabbed the edges of it to make sure it was secured firmly around his waist. He turned back to Trunks, raising a finger as if he was going to scold him again, then seemed to think better of it as his blush deepened, and he strode off without another word.

Seeing Gohan blush had made Trunks blush, and it was Trunks' reaction that deepened his own and sent him from the room in a huff. He really should be too angry to be embarrassed right now, he scolded himself. He didn't have time for this, didn't have room for this in his plans right now... Staying one step ahead of Kaioshin was all that mattered. He could feel the web of the trap being spun around him, but he was determined to find a way out.

Trunks worked up the courage to try apologizing to Gohan after a little while, but when he knocked on his door there was no answer. Then that evening at dinner, Gohan refused to speak to him, not even acknowledging his presence. He didn't tell him to get out of his house or anything, he just refused to say anything at all. The silent treatment. Trunks sighed when it continued the next day as well. Even Piccolo accused Gohan of being childish at that point, but Trunks really did feel bad about what happened, even if it was an accident, so he didn't join in the argument.

He sat thinking. Thinking about if he really wanted to try and appease Gohan, how his life even took this bizarre turn, what to make for dinner... He turned the dial on the door and stepped into the Waste, staring out at the vista before him, trying to calm his thoughts. It started to rain. Lightly at first, but then the drizzle began to intensify. After a few minutes, he noticed that turnip-head was standing over him with an umbrella. He smiled up at him, thanking him for the kind gesture. Presently, he came to a decision. Though his life had been 'normal' before, he had never really felt the sense of home and belonging there that he did here with the possessed scarecrow, fire demon, child apprentice and moody wizard. His mind resolved, Trunks headed back inside to try his hand at making a cake.

Alchemy was definitely not Trunks' strong suit, Goten thought as he watched him 'baking'... He tried to interject a few times, asking him if he really knew what those ingredients did with each other, but was hushed and told he was just a child. Oh, well... He had tried... Whatever happened, at least he knew he would not be the one trying out this particular experimentation of Trunks'... He slipped outside and took off to play in the woods before the 'cake' was done, rain be damned.

…...

Making the frosting was thankfully a lot easier than the cake part had been. His first attempt, which Goten had questioned him on, refused to rise, becoming more of a brownie looking thing... but it didn't want to be cut, or leave the pan, no matter what he tried... So he gave up and tossed it, pan and all, starting over. By the time the second attempt was done, Piccolo was virtually seething at him. He hated, HATED the make-shift oven that Trunks had rigged up, and threatened to put himself out if he tried to make a third batch. Trunks guessed this one would have to do then, crossing his fingers as he pulled it out. It had risen! Success! He thanked Piccolo heartily, promising to only buy cakes from now on, and feeding him a couple of his special logs.

After it was finally ready, he knocked on Gohan's door for the second day in a row. This time he was not going to take silence for an answer.

"Gohan?" he called, "Gohan, I have something for you, I'm coming in, ok?" he waited a few seconds and then slowly turned the knob, letting himself in. Gohan's room was a dazzling array of magical knickknacks, from wall to wall, and even the ceiling. Pendants hung and whirled, totems and charms graced almost every available space, and a myriad of colorful devices that he couldn't even begin to guess at littered the floor. Gohan was in bed. Not asleep, just laying there, staring into space dejectedly. Trunks sighed.

"I made you a snack, it's a cake, if you want some" he offered. Gohan turned his head to him, staring at him intently... Piccolo actually let himself be encased long enough for Trunks to bake a cake? The crusty demon must be going soft, he thought to himself. He turned his head away from Trunks as he blushed, and finally spoke to him.

"I guess I'll have some." Through a small mirror, lost in the clutter on the wall, he saw Trunks' face brighten noticeably. He sighed. Trunks had made him a cake... He would have been the biggest asshole in the universe if he turned down such a peace offering over something that really was just an accident.

Trunks grinned at Gohan's sigh, the man sure did know how to work the melodrama. He cut him a piece of cake while Gohan pulled himself into a sitting position.

Thank god Trunks was not looking right at him when he took the first bite. He was able to contort his gag reflex into a coughing motion just in time as the 'food' slid down his throat. Trunks was telling him about the misadventure with the first cake, and how, thankfully, this one had risen just fine. My god, Piccolo had sat through _two_ sessions for him?! Crap... He looked down at the remaining cake on his plate, and back to Trunks, seeing the way his face was beaming. God damn it... He had to eat this cake.

He blinked a few times; tears were threatening to form involuntarily at the thought of what he was about to do... But Trunks had made it for him... And he seriously doubted Trunks would ever believe things were ok between them again if he refused to eat it now. That was the exact opposite of what Gohan wanted; so he steeled himself, and ate the rest of the slice. Or tried to. Halfway through, his stomach physically rebelled and gave a horrible gurgling groan as his color paled.

"Are you ok?" Trunks asked him, seeing his state degrading.

"Um?" Gohan said noncommittally, holding his stomach.

"You don't like it."

Gohan opened his eyes and looked up at him with deep pools of regret. His stomach gurgled again, giving him a green tinge this time. Trunks came over and took the plate from him, placing a hand on his forehead.

"I think you may have poisoned me" he confessed with a grimace.

"What?" Trunks said with a frown, "It can't be that bad."

Oh, god, it_ was that bad_... Trunks spit out the bite he had tried to take with a look of horror on his face.

"Gohan, I am sooo, sorry..." he exclaimed, "Here, I'll bring you some tea, maybe that might help..." he said as he jumped up.

"No, no, nothing else!" Gohan stopped him, "Just, stay with me for a few minutes, ok? In case it gets worse?" Gohan pleaded, still clutching his abdomen. Trunks nodded, sitting back down beside him. As they sat in silence for a moment, Trunks looked around the room, trying to think of something to say that would distract Gohan from his obvious discomfort...

"So, what does that do?" he asked, pointing at a strange sort of mobile that had all of a sudden lined up on it's own and set some of it's charms to spinning. Gohan looked up at it, his eyes widening a bit.

"Videl is trying to find me" he informed him.

"The Witch of the Waste?" Trunks gasped, "Did Piccolo tell you, we saw some of her henchmen at the harbor the other day?" Gohan nodded his head affirmatively, staring at the charm for a minute more before closing his eyes again.

"I feel like such a coward sometimes, all I do is hide. Everything in here, all this magic, is just being used to keep everyone away" Gohan said softly. Trunks furrowed his brow.

"Gohan, why is the Witch of the Waste trying to hunt you down?" he asked him.

"When I was quite young, I saw how beautiful she was, and decided to pursue her. Then when I found out her true nature, I ran away... But I won't be able to run away from all my problems for much longer; I have to report to the palace, both as Pendragon, and as Jenkins."

"Uh, just how many different identities do you have?"

"As many as it takes to stay one step ahead of them" he replied.

"Why don't you just refuse the King's 'invitation'?" Trunks asked him, concerned.

"You see that?" Gohan limply waved his hand at a document that was stuck to his wall with various daggers, throwing knives, and darts, "That's the oath I took when I joined the Royal Sorcery Academy; I am required to report to the palace whenever summoned."

"You know what Gohan? I think that you _should_ see the King" Trunks said firmly. Gohan gasped, and not from the pain in his stomach.

"What? Why?"

"You are in a unique position here, how many people ever even get to see the King? You could get the chance to speak with him, give him a piece of your mind! You could tell him just how pointless all this loss of life is!" Trunks pronounced adamantly.

"You obviously don't understand the way that politics work" he said with a jaded sigh.

"But he's our King, he should take into account what's best for all his subjects, listen to their complaints..." Trunks was upset. Suddenly, Gohan sat straight up in bed, flinging the covers from him.

"That's it! Trunks, you can go to the palace for me!" he shouted as he leaned toward him excitedly.

"Just tell them that you're Pendragon's father, and that your son is such a coward that he's afraid of his own shadow and could never show his face on a field of battle! Maybe then Kaioshin will finally leave me alone!"

"Who's Kaioshin?..." Trunks asked, bewildered by the entire proposition.

"Oh, he's the Kings' Head Sorcerer... I kind of studied under him for a while...but never mind that, we have to get you ready!" Gohan urged.

"Gohan, I don't think this is a good idea, I have no idea how to act around a King, and I can't show up at a royal palace wearing these old, stained clothes – they'll kick me out!"

"Nonsense!" Gohan said, "You're smart and brave, so you'll do just fine. Plus, I can fix those clothes up for you no problem."

"Thanks Gohan, I'm glad you think of me like that, but I still don't know about this..." Trunks wavered. At that moment, Gohan's stomach decided to give another gurgle of protest, and he took the opportunity and ran with it.

"Ow..." he groaned lightly, reaching for his midsection again. "Besides, I don't think I could make the trip right now even if I wanted to... Please Trunks, you're the only one who can do this for me" he begged. With much trepidation, but even more guilt, Trunks accepted the task. Carrying what was left of the vile 'cake', if you could even call it such a thing, he was practically pushed out the bedroom door by Gohan after that.

Gohan locked it behind him, changing from the rumpled dressing gown he had been wearing into a robe that was covered in silvered runes. He shut the closet door firmly, then grabbing his spell book and a stack of notes, he flipped a hidden switch in the handle and opened the door again to reveal his private workshop. He perused the section on rings in his book, referring once or twice to a finishing enchantment on one of the loose sheets of paper, then spoke to himself absently.

"Well, I guess you were right Piccolo, better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it..." The forging of that ring would be forever emblazoned upon him...

/flashback/ Gohan brushed a runaway strand of blonde back behind his ear as he peered through the telescope. Stars had to align to work the kind of magic that this would require. Piccolo spread himself over the thick bed of coal Gohan had lain in the forge earlier. They would only have a small window from 7:37pm to 12:02am to get this done, according to Piccolo's calculations. The flame had been relentless about convincing him to take care of this now, refusing to wait for the next alignment in the following decade. What if by then it was too late? Gohan had gotten used to the fiery demon's attitude by now, and figured it was best to go along with it. Besides, they both knew this was important.

Gohan placed the telescope off to the side, where it could not get damaged, and tied back his hair while Piccolo burned hotter and hotter. He was a little nervous about using a spell that he had only seen Kaioshin demonstrate once, but Piccolo was confident that with his help he would be able to handle it. It wasn't exactly like Kaioshin had known of his and Piccolo's arrangement at that point anyway; and the day that he'd found out, all ties had had to be cut... Regardless, the warnings given at that time were going to go unheeded out of necessity, not some sort of youthful brashness.

Gohan gripped the tongs tightly, determination painted on his face, and plunged the mold into the raging furnace, as close to Piccolo as he could manage without getting burned. As Piccolo's power danced and licked at the evening sky, Gohan released the tongs and settled himself. Reaching both hands out toward the flame, a blue, glowing light began swirling from his fingertips, like light playing off water in the darkness. He closed his eyes, and a sense of serenity overcame him as he concentrated his power. Even in it's tie, his hair waved gently, infused with his power. Now he just had to hold perfectly still and concentrate for the next 4 hours or so...

Between the heat of the forge and the magical exertion, Gohan was soaked in sweat by the time Piccolo broke him of his trance-like state. The process had taken quite a bit out of the demon as well. Yet they couldn't stop now. Gohan pulled the mold from the bed of coals, checking to see that the molten metal was fizzing properly. Everything was in order. One last step, and then they could rest for now. Calling all the strength he could muster, from himself and through Piccolo this time, he blasted the casing and it's contents with a spell so strong that it destroyed the small container and instantly hardened it's contents.

Gohan slumped to the ground, completely drained, his hand grasping onto the metal they had just forged. The castle gave a shudder, slowing to a stop and drooping noticeably as Piccolo's strength gave out as well. In his deep bed of coals, he wasn't in any danger of dying, but fire demons and sorcerers alike have their limits...

The clock in Mr. Briefs study sounded 11pm, bringing him up out of his book. He had better check on Trunks. This was the first time he'd let the boy go completely solo on a project, and he was obsessed with proving himself. Just as he suspected, the light was on at his workbench, lavender hair still hunched over the delicate instrument.

"Trunks, my boy – isn't it about time you went to bed?" he asked with a knowing pat on the back, "The work will still be there in the morning."

"What time is it?" Trunks asked stiffly, rubbing his neck.

"Few minutes after 11"

"Are you serious?" he said, looking around – everyone else had left long ago. He turned a sheepish grin on his grandfather.

"I really didn't mean to be at it this late, I just kind of lost track of everything else in my concentr-" a yawn stifled the rest of what he was going to say.

"I see that – alright, off to bed with you lad" he chuckled. Trunks grinned again and nodded, reaching over to extinguish the light. He gripped the edge of the table in an odd way as he straightened up... then crashed to the floor in a heap. While a startled Mr. Briefs was trying to revive his grandson, he didn't notice that the clock on the workbench went haywire for the few moments that Trunks was unconscious. The hour and minute hands spun non-stop, in opposing directions, and the hand that was supposed to mark the seconds jerked undecidedly; one step forward, two steps back, one step forward, two steps back... a feat that would have been impossible if it had had all it's parts.../

…...

When Gohan finally came downstairs, he was back in his normal clothes, but still not completely over his near death experience cake. First off, he ordered Trunks to stand in the middle of the room so he could fix his attire. Trunks shivered a little, but trusted in Gohan. He would never do anything horrible to him like the Witch of the Waste had. He was standing there with his eyes closed, waiting for it to begin, when he felt a hand on his cheek.

"All done" Gohan informed him with a smile. Trunks looked down to find himself dressed in a nice, dark suit, complete with vest and fancy shoes. It did look like something he would have worn before, for a special occasion, which this certainly was. Gohan handed him a scroll, his official 'invitation' to the palace, and Goten gave him a hug, sensing his nervousness.

"Well, I guess I'll be off then" Trunks said as he turned to head down the stairs to the door; he better get this over with before he lost his courage. He was stopped suddenly by a hand running down his arm to grasp his fingers. Trunks felt the warm presence of Gohan pressed against his back as something was slipped over the skin of his first digit.

"Here, this charm will keep you protected and ensure you'll come back safely," Gohan whispered in his ear, "I'll follow behind you in disguise as well, in case anything goes wrong." Trunks was then herded out the door before he could make any kind of reply. He looked down briefly at the red gem set in strange metal, then back up out over the city. Why do I get the feeling this is not going to work, he thought to himself...

As soon as the door was closed, Gohan went over to one of the cabinets on the wall and began pulling down potions one at a time until he found the correct formula. Taking a big swig of it, his color instantly returned, and he sighed, holding his abused stomach in relief.

The walk to the palace was enjoyable, if slightly long. Everywhere he went, Trunks couldn't help seeing some animal acting oddly, and wonder if that was Gohan in disguise. He wasn't sure if he would go for being an alley cat, but he knew for certain he was not one of the pigeons on the statue in the square; not flashy enough. A motorized flier went overhead, it's hummingbird like wings buzzing crazily, with a young woman giggling in glee on the back of it... That could be him, Trunks thought absently.

Trunks was just taking heart at the end of his journey, seeing the palace was up ahead, when he was passed by a strange palanquin in the street. One that was being born by the Witch's henchmen. The curtain drew back as it paced him, revealing Videl in her monotone outfit, casually wafting herself with a fan of the same midnight color.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the owner of that tacky little clock shop," she said venomously, "You know, actually, I did want to thank you for handing Gohan my scorching love note... How's he doing by the way?" she purred sweetly.

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine" Trunks lied to the best of his knowledge, totally creeped out by her sudden mood swing.

"So what business does a man like you have at the palace?" she inquired.

"They've been having a bit of trouble with the new clock, and asked several different horologist's to come by and have a look at it" he covered smoothly.

"My, what a pity" Videl said without feeling.

"What about yourself?" Trunks asked, feeling emboldened by the intrusions into his own business. Videl's face brightened as a prideful smile spread across her face.

"I received a royal invitation – with this current war going on, Kaioshin has finally realized how much he needs my powers."

"Hmf, if you're so extraordinary, why don't you break the spell you cast on me?"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry sir," Videl intoned, "but my talents have always lay in the casting of spells, not in breaking them." The Witch smiled evilly as her henchmen sped up, and the curtain fell back.

"Bye bye, Gramps."

"Hey, now you wait just a minute!" Trunks called after her angrily, to no avail. About a hundred yards up the way though, he could tell that something had happened when she crossed the entrance to the palaces' courtyard. The palanquin was laying on the ground, and instead of disguised blob-men, there were only piles of clothes were they used to be. As he passed by, he heard Videl arguing with a guard, who was telling her that no vehicles were permitted beyond this point, and that she would have to travel the rest of the way on foot. She was less than thrilled.

"That damned Kaioshin, always having his little power trips – if he thinks he can keep me away like this, after all these years, he's sadly mistaken" she ranted. Trunks passed the scene, heading for the massive progression of stairs that lead up to the palace, as he gave himself a mini pep-talk. You can do this, just stay calm... he repeated in his head over and over.

As soon as Trunks placed his foot on the first step of the stairs, he noticed a difference. He felt, well, lighter somehow... And the ring on his finger was warming slightly. He looked down at it, but it gave no outward sign that anything was different; it still just sat there in his gnarled hand... It was beyond him to try and figure out the hows and whys of magic, so he just pressed on. He did turn to stare though, when Videl tried to ascend the stairs and sank to her knees with a startled curse.

"Kaioshin, you bastard!" she growled.

"What the...?" Trunks said under his breath as he watched her struggle to climb one step at a time. One of the guards on the rail next to him overheard his question.

"It's counteracting it" he said softly. Trunks turned to him with a quizzical look on his face.

"Any physical 'enhancements' she's cast on herself, the stairs are designed to suppress the effects of magical modifications done to one's body, so that all who enter here are reminded of their true position." Trunks nodded his head slowly, watching the Witch of the Waste struggle.

"Suppress, but not break..." he muttered, looking at his hands again, "Thanks" he said to the guard as he continued on his way. He was over halfway up when he heard Videl call to him from below. She still had about three quarters of the way to go.

"Stop, wait... I can't make it!" she huffed as sweat poured off of her, "Help me out here!"

"What's that?" Trunks turned to call down to her, "You suddenly remembered how to break the spell you put on me?" he queried.

"I told you before, I don't _know_ how!" Videl replied with a labored whine.

"Well I guess you better start studying then" Trunks informed her as he resumed his own trek again. There was a wider landing part way up where Trunks stopped to take a quick breather himself. Videl's progress was unimpressive, to say the least... Her makeup was running in streams down her sweat soaked visage, and she wobbled back and forth under the strain of her exertion. She looked pathetic.

"Why don't you just give up?" Trunks shouted down to her, his voice bordering on pity, "You're killing yourself!"

"Are you... kidding?" Videl shot back, albeit in between gasps, "I've... waited... 50 years... to be invited... here... ever since... that... Kaioshin... banished me... to live in the Waste!" she finished with an angry shout.

"Well, too bad I'm not younger, or I'd give you a hand..." Trunks shrugged his shoulders as he turned to mount the last section of steps.

"You cold-hearted bastard, next time I'll turn you senile too!" she shouted up after him. Trunks just continued on, he was pretty winded himself as well. When he finally reached the top, an elaborately dressed servant bowed to him and asked him to follow him in. Trunks glanced back down behind him.

"Come on now, you can do it, you're almost there!" he called out, seeing she was over halfway. To the side, he motioned to the waiting servant.

"You should go help her up these stairs"

"I'm sorry, sir; but that is strictly forbidden."

"Well that's awfully rude, the King himself invited her" Trunks replied. He turned back to her creeping figure.

"Don't give up now, you've almost got it!" he cheered her, getting a little more fun out of it than he probably should have, "Are you a witch or aren't you?" he went on as she finally drew nearer.

"Oh, shut up" she wheezed.

Videl's hair was a frazzled mess, strands of it sticking to her face from the sweat, while others jutted out wildly from her rapidly decaying hair do. She heaved up the last few steps, coughing and hacking as she could barely stand.

"Oh, what happened to you Grams? You look so much older..." Trunks teased her once she'd reached the top – she was clearly not in any condition to be getting revenge on him for it in the near future.

The less than helpful servant indicated once again for them to follow him into the palace proper.

…...

Once inside, they were lead to a large room with a single chair in it. It was devoid of all other furniture as well. The door shut behind them, but Trunks doubted that Videl noticed the click of the lock while she wobbled over to claim the chair as quickly as her shaky frame would let her. She slumped down into it with an exaggerated sigh. Trunks' attention was drawn away from her display by a panel in the left wall sliding away to reveal a young boy. He was dressed in servants' livery, and motioned for him silently to come to him.

Intrigued, Trunks walked over, wondering what all this was about. As he got closer, the lad stepped aside with a bow, holding out his arm for Trunks to proceed down the hall that was revealed. The panel closed behind him just as silently as it had opened. He thought about asking the child what was going on here, but something about his too-calm face held him back. Trunks followed him in relative silence, only a little uneasy about the boy's demeanor, he was mostly worried about the upcoming main event.

The last door they went through revealed a giant atrium, complete with fully grown trees, numerous birds, and even a stream nestled beneath its soaring glass windows. There was a large open space in the middle of the setting, where a plush chair and delicate end table faced the greenery to one side. The servant boy headed straight for the chair, and Trunks proceeded with care... that didn't look like a throne...

…...

Videl had only just plopped down into the waiting chair when she noticed a curtain beginning to draw up in front of her. She glanced to her side, finding that she was alone now, and grimaced to see more curtains pulling back all around the room. Behind each one was a giant light bulb made with a special filament, and as soon as the fabric had cleared the tops of them, the switch was thrown and a searing light filled the room. Falling to her knees, a strange ring of inverted shadows began to dance around the Witch of the Waste in the blinding light. She screamed agony as decades worth of magical spells were stripped from her. She huddled in front of the chair, old and withered, unable to focus on where she was, what she was doing, or what had happened – her magic was gone.

…...

The servant boy motioned to her with a hand to wait a prescribed amount of distance back from the chair. A group of other men were just bidding the chairs' occupant goodbye. The boy continued forward as they backed away, and he leaned over the arm of the seat to whisper.

"So," the purple skinned being addressed him, "you are Gohan's father, Mr. Pendragon?"

"Yes, that's me" Trunks replied.

"You must be tired, please, have a seat" he said, gesturing to a chair that sprang into existence at the wave of his hand. Trunks nodded his head and proceeded to sit, keeping mind to his posture.

"I am Kaioshin, his Majesty's head sorcerer... I take it Gohan will not be joining us?" he stated and questioned all at once.

"Oh, no... He's such a lazy coward that he sent me in his stead, I'm afraid he'd be completely useless to the King in this war" Trunks informed him.

"I'm very sorry to hear that..." Kaioshin offered, "You see Gohan was the last apprentice I ever took on; he was such a gifted and talented student that I thought I had finally found someone who could replace me. But then one day his heart was stolen by a demon, and he never returned to finish his studies. Since then, he has been using his magic for purely selfish ends... I am afraid, Mr. Pendragon, that your son is not simply a coward, he is dangerous as well. No one with that much power can be trusted to safely wield it without a heart. If he stays as he is, so selfish and cowardly, then I am afraid he will end up like the Witch of the Waste. Send her in." he commanded.

Another serving boy entered, pushing a wheelchair in front of him. In it sat what was left of the Witch.

"What happened to you?" Trunks gasped as she was wheeled up beside him. Videl didn't answer him, or even give any indication she had heard.

"I simply restored her to the age she actually is, all her powers are gone now. Long ago, she was a promising sorceress as well, until she allowed in a demon of greed that consumed her; body, mind, and soul. In times like these, our Kingdom can no longer allow such contagion to spread itself. If Gohan reports to me and vows to use his magic for the good of the Kingdom from now on, I will show him how to break from his demon; if not, I'm afraid I'll be forced to strip him of his power, just like her" he said with a nod in Videls' direction.

"This is horrendous!" Trunks responded with a shout, "Now I know why Gohan was so concerned about coming here, it's a trap! You lure people here with a 'Royal Invitation', then corner them and strip them of all their powers. Gohan would never do anything as heartless as that. He may come off as selfish and cowardly sometimes, but he has good intentions, unlike you; he just wants to be left alone, to be free." Trunks stood as he was speaking. As he rose, the lines of his face began to smooth, and the gray of his hair gave way to a riot of lavender that seemed to be a few inches longer once all was said and done. Standing tall, he continued to defend Gohan right from his own heart.

"Gohan won't come here – he doesn't need your help to fix the problem with his demon, he can do it all on his own, I'm sure of it" Trunks informed him.

"Ah, now I understand, you're in love with Gohan" Kaioshin smiled knowingly. As soon as he spoke those words, Trunks took an involuntary step backwards, becoming an old man once again. He didn't have time to respond to the accusation, because he was distracted by Videl falling out of her wheelchair in an attempt to latch on to Trunks.

"Did you say Gohan's coming?" she whined hopefully, "I want his heart, his heart belongs to me..." she sobbed as she collapsed on the floor.

"Pull yourself together, Videl, Gohan's not coming, he would never come here."

"Oh, I think you might be mistaken about that" Kaioshin gloated.

"What... Why?" Trunks asked, uncertain if he had done the wrong thing.

"Because I now know his weakness, Mr. Pendragon."

Trunks continued to try and pry the hysterical witch off his leg, using that time to hopefully think of a way out of this – when they all heard the noise of a mechanical flier landing nearby. All heads turned to the King as he cut the engine and strode in through the double glass doors of the atrium.

"Your Majesty" Kaioshin said with a bend of his head while remaining seated.

"As you were" he instructed with a wave of his hand, "So, how are you holding up today?" he inquired.

"I am just fine your Majesty."

"Good, good - I just thought I'd drop by, rather than sit through another boring war meeting..."

"I am honored" Kaioshin said with a smile. The King dipped his head ever so slightly, turning to address the rest of the assembled group.

"And who are your guests?" he continued.

"This is Gohan's father, Mr. Pendragon..." Kaioshin explained as Trunks bowed.

"Ah, thanks for coming, but I've decided not to use magic to win this war" the King told him. Trunks' eyes widened.

"We have used Kaioshin's techniques to shield the palace from enemy bombs, but then the bombs just fall on civilian homes instead... That's the problem with magic, isn't it Kaioshin?"

"You're quite insightful today, your Majesty" Kaioshin said with an amused nod.

From a doorway off to the side, a voice rang out over the polished tile of the atrium floor.

"Kaioshin! Look here, I've got a new battle plan – this time we're going to pound them into the dirt!" the King exclaimed as he walked over. He glanced around the room, noticing his double only after he had finished walking to Kaioshin's side.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Ha! Kaioshin! That's the best double you've made of me yet! Keep up the good work!" the King guffawed loudly before turning and leaving to assemble his generals. In the uncomfortable silence that followed, Kaioshin pronounced,

"It's so good to see you again, Gohan."

"You're looking well, Kaioshin."

"That's a rather weak disguise, didn't I teach you any better than that?"

"I didn't come here to continue hiding, I came to fulfill my oath... I came as summoned – now 'father' and I will be going" Gohan said, wrapping his arm around Trunk's shoulders.

"Oh, I don't think so" Kaioshin replied, tapping his staff once on the floor. For just the briefest moment, a hole appeared in the floor below it, filled with stars, before closing up again. As soon as it was closed, a flood of water began pouring from that spot, like a tidal wave rushing toward them.

"I think it's time that your 'father' finds out who you really are" he said, as water filled the room. Completely submerged, Trunks clung to Gohan, who stood solid, as if anchored against the magic. Trunks soon realized that the water wasn't real, and he was able to breathe just fine within the confines of the spells' effects. Gohan's hair twisted and pulled wildly in the currents around them, which were now more like air. Looking around, Trunks saw that they seemed to be floating now, with a vast spread of countryside below them. The Witch of the Waste had grabbed onto Trunks when the water began spreading, and she clung even harder now, slipping slightly every few moments as if there were no floor beneath her.

All around them, streaks of iridescent blue light began flashing to the ground below. If they'd had some sort of mass, Trunk's would have assumed they were falling stars, but they seemed to be made entirely of light. In fact, they looked like they must be alive somehow, because their paths' to the ground were not straight, zigging and zagging haphazardly. Any time one would accidentally touch something, it would spark and give off a sound like the dying shatter of a crystal glass, but made into harmony... As more and more of them began to appear in the air around them, Trunks noticed that the spot that fizzled and popped with light at the beginning of each streak was actually more like the head of the creature. Slowly they came together, forming a circle around them, the streaks of light branching off until they looked almost like arms and legs as they danced.

A strange sort of chanting buzzed through Trunks' head as the light-beings danced around them, mesmerizing him completely. As it grew louder, Trunks felt something strange happen to Gohan's arm around him. He looked down, and the gloved hand had erupted into a clawed and scaled limb. Scared for him, Trunks looked up to Gohan's face, seeing that scales and some sort of other bone structure where making their way up him, yet Gohan had a smile on his face. As the transformation took over, Trunks saw that Kaioshin was laughing at him, staring him down pointedly.

"No! Gohan, don't look, it's a trap!" Trunks yelled, trying to shield him. Gohan swept him and, by proxy, Videl with him, into the air, just as the staff that Kaioshin had been using sailed through the spot where they had been. Giving a roar, he flew straight up, the magical sky in front of him giving out. They smashed through the windowed ceiling of the atrium and out into the courtyard beside it. Gohan began receding back into his normal form as he floated them all down onto the mechanical flier he had left there a moment ago.

"Hold on tight!" he said, starting it up and taking to the skies, "They're going to be right behind us in a second." Sure enough, dozens of fliers appeared in the air after a moment.

"Trunks, come sit right here and hold this" he said giving him the controls, "They're gaining on us."

"What?! You want _me_ to fly this thing?" he asked stunned.

"Yes, I'll distract them while you fly back to the castle."

"But I don't know the way..." Trunks informed him.

"It's ok, with the ring I gave you, you'll be able to locate Piccolo anywhere in the world – just concentrate on him and the light will guide you." Trunks pictured the crotchety fire demon in his head, and the jewel on the ring began to glow brightly, a smear of light extending from it and pointing off into the distance.

"It's working!" Trunks exclaimed.

"Yes" Gohan smiled, "Just keep going and you should be there before dark."

"Gohan," Trunks said as he placed a hand on his arm, "Why did you even make me go, if you were going to show up after all?"

"Are you kidding? Kaioshin terrifies me, I can't face him on my own; I only had the strength to show up because I knew you'd be there. You really saved me back there by the way, I was in big trouble... Thank you" he replied. Letting go of the plane, Gohan let Trunks get a feel for the controls as they swooshed around in the air a bit. As the planes in pursuit drew nearer, Gohan made a strange motion with his hands, and then turned to Trunks.

"I can give you 5 minutes of invisibility – so use it wisely" he said, finishing the motion of his hand. He seemed to split off from them, making a clone image of themselves with a fake plane, and veered off to the right.

…...

Back in the palace, two serving boys pulled Kaioshin's staff out of the back of the chair Trunks had been sitting in. It finally came free, leaving a hole in the upholstery. As they delivered it back to Kaioshin he commented,

"My, my, that's the most fun I've had in ages... I suppose Gohan thinks he's evaded me, but I bet his 'father' can help me find him..."

…...

The invisibility had been gone for almost a half an hour when Trunks' flier was spotted by a dozen or so of the enemy. They were probably scouts that belonged to the city they were coming up on... Trunks made a mental note, if they got out of this, to avoid any future cities in their path. He had taken quite intuitively to the controls of the flier, and now he would need to put it to the test. Dipping low, he dodged around trees and farm houses, coming up to the city proper fast. One of the fliers behind him, not paying close enough attention, crashed through a large haystack, obliterating it. The pilot was thrown from the machine, which seized up and sputtered to a stop. It gave Trunks an idea.

Not wanting to draw anyone else onto their trail, he cornered sharpy at the city gates, reveling in the distinct crashing noise of at least two fliers behind them. On his way around the wall, he was able to get at least half of them to tangle and/or crash into various appurtenant structures, some of which he was barely avoiding himself. A bridge presented itself up ahead, and Trunks veered toward it, checking his ring to make sure they didn't get too far off track. The buttresses there claimed flier after flier as Trunks wove in, out, over and around the supports. Flying was amazing. The wind in your face, the excitement of knowing there was nothing between you and the ground but a marvel of science... It exhilarated him, to say the least.

Finally there was only one enemy ship left. Trunks thought about how he could lose his unwanted admirer, when he noticed that a second flier was heading straight for him as well. Grinning, he adjusted the angle of his get away, so that both pursuing fliers were lined up perfectly. At the last second he pulled up, actually knocking off the cap of the pilot in front of them. The loss of his hat was probably the least of his concerns right now though, thought Trunks just before he heard the two machines smash into each other with a horrible metal on metal crunch.

He headed immediately into the relative safety of the woods, staying low until he was well past the city. Any others, including his home town when they passed it, he avoided like the plague. It was dark by the time they finally made it to the Waste. Trunks was overjoyed to see that Goten and the castle were coming to meet them. The boy waved happily from one of the balconies on the upper story. Trunks waved back, but suddenly the machine gave a strange shudder and he put both hands back on the controls quickly. Sputter. Jerk. Sputter-whine. The flying machine began falling out of the air as the engine seized up.

"Either we got damaged and it's just now catching up with us, or we're out of fuel... hold on tight!" he yelled to the crumpled form of Videl, who was staring listlessly in front of her, unaware of their plight. They kept drifting down, still heading toward the castle – the controls had ceased working when the engine cut out, so they were on a direct crash course with what would probably be the living room... With a horrific crash, they slammed into the wall, breaking through and into the living room as predicted. Broken beams of wood and chunks of rubble from the wall scattered everywhere, and Piccolo coughed from the hearth as a brick landed on top of him. Goten came running down the stairs, frightened and calling out for Trunks.

"Trunks! Trunks! Are you ok? Trunks!"

"I'm here Goten, I'm just fine!" he called out, sliding down the pile of rubble clumsily.

"Who's that?" Goten asked pointing at the blinking form of the Witch of the Waste. She appeared to be fine as well; Trunks wondered for a moment how, but figured that maybe the protection of Gohan's ring had extended to the whole flier... Eh, who knew? With magic, Trunks tried not to think about it too much, and just began helping to pull her out of the heap that was once the wall.

"This is Videl – or what's left of her, Kaioshin took away all her powers... Here, help me get her to the couch" Trunks instructed Goten.

"The Witch of the Waste?" Goten said with a little bit of shock. After they had her situated on the couch, Goten flung himself at Trunks in a strong hug.

"I missed you Trunks, I'm so glad you're ok!" he said, half sobbing against him. Trunks returned the hug with just as much force.

"I missed you too Goten, it's good to be back" he said, comforting the boy.

…...

Late that night, Videl was snoring away on the couch while Trunks had a pallet made up on the floor. As he slept his lavender hair sparkled in the firelight. He had taken to keeping it in a ponytail or braid with it's increasing length, but right now it scattered loose across his pillow. Very quietly, the door of the castle opened, revealing a ghostly ethereal form of a half man, half dragon.

"Damn it, this is bad, Gohan – you've gone too far!" Piccolo hissed at him from the hearth. He slowly trudged across the floor, leaving bloody prints behind his transparent form. When he passed by Trunks' cot on the ground, he stopped, staring for a moment. Using the one hand that was not claw-like, he bent down and brushed a strand of lavender gently off Trunks' face... Studying him for a moment, he lightly rested his fingers against Trunks' cheek before pulling back and heading up to his room.

…...

Something sparked in Trunk's mind, and the dream he had been having about Gohan and himself riding the flier together turned dark all of a sudden. They flew into an inescapable void, and when they came through the other side, it was the door of the castle. Trunks was laying on the floor sleeping as Gohan trudged in past him, the weight of the world seeming to rest on those thin, ephemeral shoulders. For this was the Gohan he had seen in Kaioshin's vision; at least it appeared to be. His head and one of his limbs were his own, but the rest of his body was given over to the transformation, resembling a dragon of fiery intent. You could practically see right through him in his current state though, it was more like an outline of Gohan that was back-lit with fire and shadows. Scales fell from him as he walked, and the droop of his wings smeared the blood soaked trail he left behind him.

Once Gohan had made his way up the stairs, Trunks seemed to waken with a start, looking around and seeing the trail on the floor immediately.

"Is Gohan back?" he asked Piccolo hesitantly.

"Yeah, and he looks pretty bad" the demon responded. Reaching over, Trunks started to pick up one of the scales left behind on the ground next to him, only to have it disintegrate into nothingness in his hand. He looked in horror at the direction of Gohan's room, and quickly pulled on his boots – lighting a candle as well to go check on him.

He followed the trail of blood and scales up the stairs, and down the hall to Gohan's room. Knocking once, and receiving no answer, he slowly let himself in, holding the candle out in front of him. When he opened the door, Gohans' room was empty of all furniture and had been transformed from the inside of a structure, into an underground cave; the back of which was not visible in the candlelight. The various charms and knick knacks seemed to be embedded in the walls, most sticking out at odd angles as if they were just caught in the sweep of things that way. Trunks firmed his resolve, and closed the door behind him, heading further into the cave.

After a hundred feet or so, the trinkets on the walls and floor began to be interspersed with dragon scales. After another hundred, the charms and such were gone and only bloodied scales decorated the path. Up ahead, it looked like the wall dead-ended in a solid layer of them. Until it moved. Trunks took a step back, but then ran forward when he saw the outline of Gohan's profile in the shadows of the beasts' face.

"Gohan, is that you?" he called out. A labored breathing filled the room as the creature moved.

"Are you in pain? Please, tell me what's happening Gohan..." Trunks implored him.

"Go. Away." a raspy voice dictated from the darkness.

"No, I won't go away – I'm going to help you break that spell you're under!" he beseeched him.

"You? You can't even break your own spell..." the voice rasped mockingly.

"But you don't understand, Gohan, I love you!" Trunks cried out in frustration. The creature began unfurling it's wings, and scales fell off of it left and right. They were blown around like feathers in a whirlwind as the creature began to take flight.

"You're too late."

"No! Gohan!" Trunks shielded his eyes from the scales as the wind increased and tore his lavender locks out of their restraint, making them swirl like a purple flame in the darkness.

"You're too late..." rang out one more time, as Trunks woke with a start, his gray hair clinging to him in a cold sweat.

"Piccolo, did Gohan just get back?" Trunks asked, confused by his dream. There were no bloody marks on the floor anymore, at least that was hopeful.

"Yeah, and he looks like crap. You better find a way to break the curse that's on us quick. Gohan's running out of time, in case you haven't noticed" the demon lectured her.

"You mean he'll become a monster, a dragon? Is that what you mean?" Trunks pushed him.

"Hey, I can't tell you the details of the spell, you should know that by now, come on..." Piccolo rolled his eyes. Standing up, Trunks walked over to the hearth, leaning over it as he spoke, making Piccolo shrink back a bit with the intensity of his gaze.

"Do you know what Kaioshin told me? He said that Gohan's heart was stolen by a demon... Know anything about that, Hmm?" Trunks said threateningly.

"I'm sorry, that information is confidential" Piccolo said condescendingly back at him.

"And how about if I dump a bucket of cold water on you? What then?"

"If you drown me, then Gohan will die too, don't you get it?"

"Gah!" Trunks said, throwing up his hands... Continuing this would get him nowhere...

…...

Walking out to the misty morning of the Waste, Trunks stared off into the distance, then back up at the front of the castle. Turnip-head hopped to his side, seemingly studying the castle as well.

"This isn't going to be easy" Trunks said with a sigh, "Well, better get started." Tying one end of a rope around the protruding flying machine, he had Goten and turnip-head pull on the other end of it a ways away, down on the ground. Trunks pushed for all he was worth, trying to dislodge the thing, but it didn't seem to want to move. Trunks finally kicked the side of it in frustration, and it suddenly whirred to life, sputtering and flitting what was left of it's wings as it gyrated itself out of the wall. It fell and headed straight for the boy and the scarecrow in it's malfunctioning. Eyes wide in shock, Goten yelled and ran, turnip-head bouncing after him. The machine skidded to a stop against a rock, finally giving out completely and breaking apart into several pieces, squirting out oil onto the ground like it was it's dying gasp. Peeking from behind a different rock, Goten stared for a silent moment before breaking into a joyful, adrenaline-fueled dance, declaring the whole thing to have been "Awesome!"

Trunks swept the last of the debris out the gaping hole, already wondering what he could use from the spare parts room to try and fix it. When he finished the sweeping he called out to Goten down below, "Time to eat Goten, don't forget to wash your hands!"

Piccolo stared at the table Trunks had drug in front of him, eying Videl suspiciously.

"Open wide" Trunks said, spoon feeding the elderly witch a bowl of mash while she stared at the flames on the heart.

"Don't feed her, that's the Witch of the Waste!" Piccolo said in a whispered snarl.

"Oh, she's alright, she's not going to hurt anyone" Trunks admonished him.

"Well, she keeps staring at me, it's freaking me out" Piccolo said with a puff of smoke.

"What a pretty fire..." Videl said disconnectedly, staring at the flickering light.

Then Gohan bounded down the stairs, giving a cheerful "Good morning, everyone!" and even doing a little swinging twirl off the edge of the stair railing as he stepped down to ground level.

"Good morning, Gohan" Trunks said softly, as if no one else was in the room.

"Good morning, Trunks" Gohan said just for him. Goten's voice broke through, bringing them back to reality.

"Master Gohan, look at this, it's Videl, can you believe it? She looks so different, and she's a lot nicer now too..." he prattled on. Looking around the room and seeming to notice Videl for the first time, he turned to Piccolo.

"The Witch of the Waste at my table?" he smiled, "Piccolo, whatever possessed you to let her in my house?"

"I didn't have a choice in it! Trunks crash landed his flier into my face!" he defended angrily.

"Did he now? Ha!" Gohan laughed, grinning at the fire, "I knew he'd be a good pilot." Walking over to take a look at the empty space where the wall used to be, Gohan noticed turnip-head balancing on an exterior piece of the castle.

"Well, looks like we have yet another addition to the family here – You've got a nasty spell on you as well I'm afraid... Seems like everyone here has problems... Oh well, welcome to the family!" he said in his cheery attitude again. Spinning to address the rest of the room, his eyes lit up with excitement.

"So everyone, today we're moving!" he declared.

"Yay!" Goten shouted.

"What? Moving?" Trunks asked confused, surely the damage wasn't that bad...

"Well, when Kaioshin's henchmen were trying to track us down yesterday, they smashed through the doors to both Jenkins' and Pendragon's magic shops, effectively rendering the connections there void. And this place could use some work too... It's getting a little crowded in here now, don't you think?" he said with a wink to Trunks. Trunks wasn't exactly sure why that comment made him blush, but it did. It wasn't as if he should be embarrassed from having crashed due to a lack of skill, the thing truly had malfunctioned... He quickly went back to feeding Videl one spoonful at a time, careful to avoid Gohan's direct gaze for a few minutes.

Gohan had Goten help him with the runes he painted on the ground, making him run ahead of him and clear rocks and sticks out of the way. Then with a shout, he had Piccolo line up the castle directly above the giant circle. Back inside, he made the same markings with chalk on the floor in front of the hearth, having Trunks, Goten and Videl wait on top of the table so they weren't touching the structure when he used this spell. Turnip-head had to wait outside. He explained to Goten what each symbol was for as he went; which were to protect and strengthen, which were to move and transmute, etc. When he was finished, he got up and walked over to the hearth, grabbing a shovel from beside it and scooping up Piccolo who wavered nervously at being removed from his hearth.

"Be gentle with me... Please..." Piccolo said as Gohan crossed back to his magical circle.

Standing up straight in the center of it, he held Piccolo in front of him an raised his other arm at a 90° angle.

"On my mark..." he said to Piccolo, concentrating as his hair began floating upward. His power spilled out around him like a physical wave. All of a sudden, Piccolo roared and grew to 10 times his normal size, turning almost solid blue with the intensity of his burn. The circle beneath them glowed and cast an upward light as the spell began to take effect. The walls and floor of the castle shimmered, then quaked as they changed sizes and shapes. The floor became much bigger, with several new doors springing into existence as wallpaper covered the expanding structure, and decorative shelves popped out of the walls as well. The hole filled itself in with bricks and a new window; even new furniture was ready to be used when he was done. As the shimmering faded, Gohan placed Piccolo back in the hearth, giving him and extra one of Trunks' special logs as a reward for a job well done.

Looking around in amazement, Trunks wandered to the window once Gohan said they could get down. Outside, a familiar hillside and billowing train smoke greeted him. He pulled back from the window in astonishment.

"This is great Master Gohan, it's huge!" Goten said, spinning in circles with his arms out across the floor.

"Oh, what a pretty fire" was Videl's only comment.

"Come over here, Trunks" Gohan called to him. Trunks tore himself away from the window and headed over to Gohan. As he crossed the floor, he seemed a little taller, thinner too – like a man gray and past his prime, but not into the clutches of degeneration just yet.

"I added on another bedroom, here, have a look" he said, swinging open the door. The lay out of the space resembled exactly his old room at the clock shop, down to the large workbench that ran all along the window where the light would be best. Running his hand along the workbench, he looked from Gohan to it, and back to Gohan.

"Why... Why'd you do this?" Trunks asked.

"So we'd have a room that was just for you. Do you like it?" Gohan prompted him, leaning against the door jam. Trunks, now middle aged, but still gray, smiled at him genuinely.

"It's perfect" he said, looking out the window one last time. Grinning, Gohan left the door frame.

"I got you some new clothes too, but you can open those later. Come over here Trunks, there's more I want to show you" he said, standing by the machines Trunks had been working on earlier. As he came over to Gohan, Trunks noticed that the same, broken turtle figurine still graced the mantle, even with all the fancy new additions to the décor...

"I fixed your drier for you!" Gohan said proudly. Trunks had perfected the washing machine after a couple more attempts, but had been having trouble getting the machine to dry the clothes working properly. It kept plastering the clothes against the sides of it, making them dry into stiff chunks, instead of tossing them gently as was his intent. He got frustrated with it early on though, and it never seemed to work right no matter what he did.

"How did you do that?" Trunks asked, extremely curious.

"Oh, you were using too much wind spell, so I just toned it down a bit – it should work fine now" Gohan beamed.

"Wait, what do you mean, 'wind spell'?" Trunks asked, confused.

"Wind spell, like what I used to make the frigid. You know, it's funny, I actually did the same thing with that, used to much the first time when I made it, but I went ahead and left it since it kept Goten from sneaking into it" Gohan laughed as his own cleverness.

"But I didn't do that..." Trunks began, but Gohan was already on the move, waving him over to the front door.

"Come on Trunks, one last thing, I promise it's the best one" Gohan smiled. Trunks frowned slightly at the drier, but mentally put it aside to deal with later, right now Gohan was here and absorbing the better part of his attention.

"As you'll notice, I've added a new color to the wheel" he said, spinning it to yellow and throwing open the door.

"It's a present for you, come and see" he said quietly, gesturing out into the field of wildflowers with his free arm. Trunks drew an inward breath at the beauty of what lay beyond the door, stepping down onto a carpet of untamed colors as he now released his breath in a sigh. Gohan shut the door behind them and they seemed to be standing in front of a one-room, almost garden shed like structure. Crawling vines and flowers climbed the side of it, spreading over the tile roof, making it look at home in the volley of natural beauty around them. Trunks just stared, completely speechless.

"Do you like it? It's my secret garden" Gohan informed him as he took his hand into the crook of his arm, leading him down the gently sloping hillside.

"It's incredible... Did you do this with your magic?" he asked.

"Only a little bit, to help the flowers grow. My uncle, the Wizard Roshi, began planting these flowers an age ago, to help keep the Witch of the Waste at bay; though that concern is no longer pressing now" he informed him. Trunks laughed and jogged down to the edge of the small lake that was below them, throwing his arms wide as he breathed in the fragrant breeze blowing over it.

"This place is gorgeous, Gohan, it's like walking in a dream" he shouted back to him with a huge grin on his face. Turning, Trunks gazed out over the water again, absorbing the peace and tranquility. A young man again in everything but hair color, he stood transfixed by the beauty around him.

"Trunks" Gohan spoke his name into the restful silence.

"It's so strange, I know I've never been here before, yet I feel so at home..." Trunks told him.

"Come with me" Gohan said with a smile, holding out his hand. Trunks took it, looking into Gohan's eyes as he did, rather than at the offered hand.

"Ok"

Taking him over the crest of the hill next to the lake, a small cottage was revealed, nestled along the river that flowed through the valley.

"This was my uncles' place, the turtle hermit house, until he left to try and stop the war. He raised me here and gave it to me to watch over... And tend to the flowers, now and then..." Gohan trailed off, nostalgic. Suddenly Trunks understood why that silly figurine meant so much to him, broken leg and all.

"It's a very cute little cottage" he replied.

"Yes, and it's yours now too, everyone needs a secret hideaway – you can come here whenever you want, Trunks" Gohan said, "I mean it, I want you to treat this place like your home, just as you would the castle." Smiling, Trunks nodded his head.

"Ok, if that's what you want" he whispered, caught up in the light shining from Gohan's eyes. Still holding Trunks' hand, Gohan took a step towards him, leaning as Goten's voice sounded urgently from the ridge above them...

"Master Gohan! Come quick! They're saying in the paper that Master Roshi's been killed!" he yelled, waving a newspaper frantically and panting from the run. Gohan froze at the sound of his young apprentice's voice, and now he paled at the news it brought. Trunks squeezed the hand still held by Gohan tightly and placed the other one on his shoulder, comforting.

"Let's go find out what's happened" were the old man's words to the stricken wizard. Squeezing his hand in return, Gohan headed back up the hill as quickly as Trunks could, as he was unwilling to leave him behind despite the assurances that he would be fine, he could make it on his own...

Reaching Goten, Gohan motioned them on, back inside, before stopping to read the paper.

"He was killed 3 days ago, on the front lines" he informed them, "His funeral is tomorrow... I'll need something black to wear..." he trailed off in a distracted sadness, heading towards the stairs up to his room.

"Won't it be dangerous for you to show up there? Won't Kaioshin be expecting it?" Trunks asked pointedly, afraid for him after their recent narrow escape.

"There is no force on the planet or beyond that will keep me from laying flowers on my uncle's grave" Gohan replied with a good deal of sadness in his voice.

"You can't just stroll in there all alone, holding a bouquet of flowers and think they'll leave you alone because it's your uncle's funeral" Trunks tried to reason with him.

"I won't just 'stroll' in there, I'll be properly disguised, and I won't be alone, you're coming with me" he said. Trunks opened his mouth to voice the ridiculousness of that plan, but something in Gohan's eyes stopped him. Gohan needed him, needed him there with him to accomplish this, he was sure of it from the way Gohan stared at him like he was his last lifeline.

"Oh, ok... Um, did you happen to have anything black in the clothes you got me already?" was what he actually ended up saying.

"I'm not sure... Pick a nice suit and bring it up to my room, I'll do it at the same time as mine" he told him. Trunks opened packages for a few minutes, searching. If it hadn't been such a somber event, he would have taken more pleasure in the act, as Gohan had very nice taste. Finding a suitable one at last, he went up to Gohan's room, knocking as he pushed on the already open door.

"Oh, there you are... Hang it right here" Gohan instructed him, pulling back his own clothes to make room for Trunks' suit on the rack. Tilting his head to the side a bit, his hair gave the tiniest of puffs, like someone had popped a balloon in his face, and with a flick of his wrist, every piece of clothing in the closet became black. Pulling out the suit again, he handed it back to Trunks, squeezing his hand sadly as the garment passed between them. Trunks knew better than to comment on the severity of Gohan's wardrobe change, the man was just starting his grieving. Instead, on a whim, he pulled him into a hug, hoping it would convey his sorrow for him better than his previous attempt to keep him from his uncle's funeral had... Gohan returned it, and when they broke apart, just for a moment, there was a little less sadness in Gohan's eyes. Trunks decided that he understood, so smiling encouragingly, he gave him a nod and headed off with the suit.

The next day, Gohan disguised them both before they headed out to the funeral, since Kaioshin knew what Trunks looked like now. When they arrived to the bleak affair, Gohan was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few people there. He could address none of the ones he knew because of their disguises, unfortunately, but it was good to see that so many of Master Roshi's friends came to pay their respects. After the service was over, a good many of them stayed, telling stories of the old man's bravery and antics. Lingering until everyone else was gone, Gohan stood at the foot of the grave, examining the turtle shell shaped headstone with reverence. Silently, he pulled out a mug from the fold of his jacket. Trunks did a double-take to see that it was filled with liquid already... must be some sort of spell on a secret pocket he decided. Gohan lifted it to the grave stone in a toast, "Well, bottoms up Roshi, that's what you always used to say..." he sighed and breathed deep as he brought the glass back to his lips, chugging the whole thing in one breath. Grimacing, he put the mug back into his coat.

"Crazy old man, that stuff it disgusting" he told Trunks as he took his arm, leading him away from the grave.

…...

After a week of watching Gohan mope listlessly around, Trunks had a bright idea. One that should cheer Gohan, giving him something to do, and help with their financial situation as well. Both the wizards Jenkins and Pendragon were out of business, and Trunks didn't exactly have the tools or supplies to begin making clocks to support them.

"What would you say, Gohan, about opening a flower shop? If we used the flowers from the valley, it would be like your uncle's legacy being spread to the whole city. There's no need to combat the Witch of the Waste anymore... We could call it 'Turtle's Flower Shoppe' in his honor" Trunks suggested. Gohan's face brightened thinking about it.

"That's perfect, Trunks" he said, "though, I told you, it's your place now too, you don't have to ask my permission to pick the flowers" he laughed.

"Ok, that's good – How about asking for your help then? It's going to be a lot of work getting it set up" he countered, glad to see Gohan smiling again.

"No problem, just tell me what we need to do" Gohan said, rubbing his hands together.

"Well, the store that leads to the street from our courtyard will work fine location wise, but it'll need some re-modeling to be a suitable flower shop" he said, thinking out loud.

"I can take care of that, come on!" he said, pulling Trunks out through the courtyard and into the store.

"Sure, we can start right now" Trunks laughed as he was pulled along.

"Ok, this is just changing up the furnishings, right? Good. I won't need Piccolo for this then, since the structure's staying the same. Ok, Trunks, close your eyes and picture the flower shop as you see it" he said, taking both his hands. Trunks complied, but his eyes flew open of their own accord when he felt Gohan's forehead pressed against his.

"Ah, ah, keep them closed" Gohan scolded him with a smile, never opening his own. Blinking a few times, Trunks closed them again, trying to steady his pounding heart as he pictured wide counters and multilayered shelves. He felt the tingle of Gohan's power from this close, and strangely, a small answering pull within himself as well. Just as quickly as it began though, it was over, and Trunks looked around at the polished counters as Gohan pulled back. Shelves upon shelves of colorful vases waited to be filled with flowers, and Gohan had chosen a delicate filigree to act as decoration for the fabrics and sign out front. Delighted, Trunks ran his fingers over the counter, taking it all in and turning back to him with a smile, "It's perfect, all it needs now is flowers."

Taking Goten and Videl with them, even turnip-head though he couldn't help, Trunks and Gohan spent the rest of the day picking flowers and filling vases with water. It turned out that Videl (quite surprisingly, as she'd shown no real comprehension of anything yet, and had just been staring in to the fire most of the time) had a talent for arranging the flowers in their vases just so, making them appear as if either perfectly manicured, or as if nature's chaotic symmetry had planted them right there on command. Trunks was glad she had found something to break her monotony as well.

"Is that enough flowers yet, Trunks?" Goten said, itching to go play in the vast fields. Sighing with a shake of his head and a smile, Trunks answered him.

"Ok, we're done, you can go play, but take turnip-head with you, he's probably board out of his mind as well" he said, reaching up to stick a flower into the lapel of turnip-heads' ragged jacket. Pausing for a moment, he hopped away after Goten, and Trunks finished carrying the last batch of flowers inside.

…...

Later, after dinner was done and everyone else had already gone to bed, Trunks sat staring into Piccolo; mulling over the questions is his mind. Finally he decided to approach the conundrum of his own magic the same way he would anything else, by experimenting. Getting down a few sheets of paper, Trunks trimmed them down, and began to make a paper crane out of the first one. It seemed that if he had any latent magical ability as Gohan claimed, it came out when he was making things. He certainly didn't have time to put together another machine right now, but he figured making something small and harmless like this might be a good start.

When he was done, he set it on the table and stared at it for a moment... It didn't seem to be doing anything magical... With a sigh, he tried again, and again. Rubbing his temples, about to give up for the moment out of tiredness and frustration, he started talking to himself.

"What am I missing... There's got to be some angle I haven't thought of... Maybe I'm over-thinking it..."

"That's not your problem" a gruff voice informed him. Trunks sometimes forgot that in the presence of the flame, one was never really alone.

"What do you mean?" he asked Piccolo.

"I've seen you work plenty of times, Trunks. My guess would be that you need to be thinking and concentrating _extra_ hard on what it is you're trying to accomplish. Try it with something specific" he instructed him.

"Hm... Ok, I'll give it a try."

Taking another sheet of paper, Trunks concentrated specifically on making a crane that would fly. As soon as he released it, it would flutter from his hands and take flight, it's little paper wings flapping hurriedly. Picturing such things the entire time, Trunks was determined for this one to work. Taking a deep breath, he made the last fold, and as soon as he had adjusted and aligned the finished product as he liked, it sprang to life in a twitter of movement, zig-zagging around in the air crazily. Trunks whooped in the joy of success, before realizing everyone else was asleep. Placing a hand over his mouth he listened for a moment, hoping he hadn't woken anyone. Before he was completely sure though, the crane flitted too close to the hearth, and Piccolo reached out with a tongue of flame, devouring it.

"Hey!" Trunks said angrily, stomping over to him.

"Just consider it my consulting fee – pretty tasty, by the way, though not a good as your logs... What? Stop looking at me like that, you can always make another one" Piccolo grumbled. Losing his anger when he realized Piccolo was right, he turned to the stack of special logs by the heart, picking one up and examining it closely.

"Did I put magic in these too?" he asked the demon. Laughter was the only response he got.

…...

Over the next few weeks, Trunks kept working on his magical trinkets at night while helping with the flower shop during the day. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason it bothered him that Gohan was always able to sell more or bigger arrangements of flowers than he was. He wasn't just imagining it either, even Goten had noticed, proclaiming his Master to be the best Magician _and_ Salesmen he'd ever met. Ok, so that had irked him a bit... True, his skill had always lay more with the actual making of the clocks and watches, but he'd certainly been in a business environment all his life; he should be just as good if not better at it than Gohan, who had lived most of his life trying to avoid people.

The day Gohan came in under his nose and talked a customer Trunks had been working with into purchasing a vase well over twice the size she had been planning to, it was the last straw.

"What do you think you're doing?" he confronted him after she had left.

"What?" Gohan said, confused.

"Are you using magic to persuade our customers to buy more? Casting spells on them?" he accused him.

"No, of course not, that would be like, cheating, to purposefully use magic on them for our gain" Gohan finished, scratching at his head.

"Well are you using any magic on acc-" Trunks stopped in mid sentence. The vest. When he first came here, before he knew about his magic, he had ripped one of Gohan's vests. He blushed in a combination of embarrassment that this whole situation was his own fault, and for having thought about how charming Gohan was the entire time he had been sewing up that vest. Rubbing his forehead as Gohan looked at him strangely, he told him to go change his clothes.

"Change my clothes... Trunks are you feeling ok?" Gohan asked, slightly concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine – the thing is, I accidentally put a small spell or charm or something on your vest... It's not a big deal, really, I'd just appreciate it if you went and changed" Trunks revealed to him.

"Oh, um... Ok..." Gohan left to change. When he came back, you would never have known anything was different with all his clothes being monotone now, but Trunks trusted that he had actually performed the task. Until the next round of customers came in, that was... It was just as before, Gohan flashing a smile and people caving, buying more extravagant, pricier bouquets than they had asked for. Trunks was practically livid, but he could understand how he might have got the vests mixed up while changing, since everything he owned was black.

After the last of those customers were gone, Trunks went over and flipped the sign on the door to "Closed" and locked it. Grabbing Gohan's arm with a sigh, he lead him back into the castle.

"Ok, let's try this again, change this vest back to it's original color and _then_ go put on another one" he instructed him. Raising an eyebrow at him and fingering the edge of his vest, Gohan complied, taking it off and changing it back. The problem was, it wasn't the vest Trunks had stitched up before... Making an exasperated sound, Trunks grabbed the vest from him, staring at it as if it had just murdered his best friend while he looked it over. It wasn't the one. No way, no how. Which meant that, Gohan's ability was just natural, and Trunks looked like an idiot... The washing machine in the corner made a horrible noise and began shooting water out everywhere.

While Gohan, Goten, and even Piccolo cringed at the sound, Trunks was unmoved, still staring at the vest in hatred. Then the dishwasher and suction machine began going haywire too, as a rattling bang sounded from the closet where the pump was kept. With his eyes wide, Goten moved behind Gohan, grabbing onto the leg of his trousers in a gesture he probably hadn't used in years. When a loud, snapping pop erupted from the log Piccolo was currently on, he decided enough was enough.

"What are you doing, Gohan? Stop him before somebody gets hurt!" Piccolo yelled to get him moving.

"Right" Gohan answered him, taking a step forward, then hesitating, "I don't think he even knows what he's doing though..." he pointed out.

"Then just apologize already!" Piccolo snarled as a jet of water came dangerously close to the hearth.

"You think that will help?" Gohan questioned him. Trunks was ignoring them all, lost in the revelation of the vest; oblivious to the magical and mechanical malfunctions all around him.

"Fucking hell! Do you want to die?" Piccolo yelled as half of his log exploded in a rain of purple and red sparks. His eyes wide, Gohan hopped over to Trunks' side, placing his hands over his on the vest and raising them up to his chest, trying to draw Trunks' field of vision up to his face.

"I'm sorry" he said, for what, having no idea... But his eyes and face were truly concerned for the situation, lending truth to his statement. Slowly Trunks blinked, coming out of it and studying Gohan's face further.

"I didn't mean to upset you, honest" Gohan continued to try and pacify him without mentioning specifics. All of a sudden everything went lifeless again as Trunks exhaled and released the vest.

"It wasn't your fault" he said, then seemed to notice the sparks smoldering on the wood floor, and the water sprayed everywhere for the first time.

"What just happened?" he asked, confused.

"Hehehe, you made Piccolo swear" Goten informed him, giggling in the aftermath.

"You almost made me EXPLODE, I could have DIED!" the fire demon raged.

"Oh, calm down Piccolo, all's well that ends well, right?" Gohan said cheerfully.

"What are you talking about?" Trunks asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"He's fine, don't worry about it, you know how he gets... Besides, it was just a bit of a magical malfunction, you're still getting used to controlling your power, that's all" Gohan smoothly interjected.

"That's true I guess... Well, if I caused this mess the least I can do is clean it up" he replied. As Trunks let go of his hands to go stomp out the embers on the floor, Gohan leaned over to the flame and whispered, "You wouldn't want to set him off again, would you? So put a lid on it." Piccolo wisely chose to remain silent for the rest of the afternoon.

…...

After cleaning up the living room there was still some daylight left, so Trunks went to go open the flower shop up again for a few hours. As he was flipping the sign back to "Open" he noticed a rather large group of people running through the street. That was odd. His curiosity getting the best of him, he stepped outside and looked in the direction they had been running from. Even though they were far off, the outlines of airships were visible on the horizon. Taking an involuntary step backward, he bumped into the still open door of the shop just as the air raid sirens began going off.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Gohan!" … A firm hand on his arm pulled him back inside the shop, breaking the lock his eyes had on the airships. Without a word Gohan flipped the sign back to "Closed" and locked the door, his actions smooth and in control. Trunks just blinked at him a few times, his mind not wanting to process what was happening. He could still clearly hear the sirens. Twining his arm through Trunks', Gohan quickly but gently lead him back through the shop, and into the castle. He moved for Trunks to ascend the stairs, but his arm began sliding out of his as he did. Turning, Trunks looked back at him from the few steps up, seeing that he was not following.

Fire burned in Gohan's eyes. Trunks reached out to him, his hand stroking the side of his face in concern. Though his hand seemed to know what to do on it's own, he couldn't make his mouth form the words he wanted. His lips opened and then closed, no sound coming out. Gohan smiled at that, taking hold of Trunks' hand against his cheek and turning his head just slightly to kiss his palm. Then, without saying a word, he turned the wheel on the door to black and opened it with the arm behind his back. Trunks' fingers trailed against Gohan's cheek for the briefest of moments as he stepped backwards, into the void. Then he was gone.

Later that evening, things were still tense even though no actual bombs had fallen near them. Plus Gohan was still gone. Trunks brought Videl a glass of water as he tucked her in for the night. She didn't have her own room, but Gohan had put a bed for her in the living room.

"You're in love..." she said as he was turning to go. He stopped, fading back to the young man she had originally cursed, in everything but hair color.

"What? No... I don't know what you're talking about..." he trailed off unconvincingly.

"There's no use denying it, you've been sighing all afternoon, ever since he left" she said with a grandmotherly chuckle. Trunks wasn't sure what to say to that; he sat on the edge of her bed, playing with the ends of his now longer hair. It had gotten so long now that he'd taken to keeping it in a braid so it would be out of the way. Before he could respond with anything but another sigh, the sirens began going off again. Startled, Trunks looked up as Goten raced to the nearest window.

"Oh, it'll be ok darling," Videl said, "Piccolo keeps this house well hidden" she said with a nod.

"Yes, but even demon's have their limits" he said absently, still worried, though more for Gohan than themselves.

The next morning, just after they had finished breakfast and opened the shop, the door flew open, but it was not Gohan returning home, the visitor was Trunks' mother.

"Mother?"

"Trunks!" Bulma cried, lunging to hug him. She was dressed in the absolute latest fashion, with a huge hat and parasol and bag that all matched.

"I've been so worried! No one knew where you were, everyone blamed me of all people for you running off. My god, you look so old!" she talked at high speed as usual.

"Who is that?" she asked, "The landlady?" indicating Videl sitting by the fire.

"Oh, guess what?" she said, but not waiting for a reply, she barged right ahead, "I got married again! And he's rich, Trunks, fabulously rich, we can all live together again! Won't that be great?" she said as she twirled around the room, stopping to grasp Trunks' hands with her own.

"Well, congratulations... I'm very happy for you mother" Trunks replied, only barely managing to get a word in edgewise, "But I like it here, I'd just get in the way with your new husband" he responded.

"Oh, are you sure, honey?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure" he said.

"Well I should probably go then dear, I just wanted to check on you and make sure you were doing alright." Trunks walked her to the door, hugging her goodbye.

"Best of luck to you and your new husband" he called to her as she was getting into the waiting carriage, "Goodbye mother!" He had not noticed that she left her small bag sitting on the edge of the table while she was exclaiming over the house and twirling, but Videl had. As soon as they had left the room she hurried over and opened it, grabbing a black, snake like creature that looked like it was made of the same material that her henchmen used to be.

"A Peeping bug, really? Come on Kaioshin, I thought you could do better than that" she talked to no one in particular... Going over to the fire demon she said, "Open wide" and threw it into the flames. Piccolo ate the bug, destroying it, but at a cost. He turned a sickly green color and burned lower and lower, until he was barely peeking above the embers. Continuing to rifle through the bag, Videl tossed useless mirrors, makeup and trinkets until she spotted something that appealed to her. A cigar. Leaning over and drawing a few large puffs, she lit it on what was left of the flame in the hearth.

When Trunks came back in from running the shop at the end of the day, the whole castle was filled with a foul smoky smell, and it was obvious where it was coming from. This was not what he needed right now. All day, the few customers that did come in were downcast and apprehensive, the war on their doorstep was all anyone talked about. The last one had even mentioned rumors of a dragon defending the town against the attack. After that, Trunks needed a break. Pausing to stoke the fire, Trunks thought it was odd that Piccolo was burning so low when he still had plenty of wood left. He gave him the last of the batch of special logs that he had cooked up before, but it didn't help. Finally getting out the bellows, he tried coaxing him higher, but still to no avail.

"I can barely breathe... Can't you put that thing out?" Goten asked dramatically, pinching his nose and waving his hand in front of his face.

"Now, now, don't deny an old witch her simple pleasures" she said, blowing another large puff into the air.

"Go open a window, Goten" Trunks instructed him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you... Piccolo's too weak to fully hide and protect this place right now; Kaioshins' henchmen might get in" Videl warned them. As Goten opened the window to the courtyard, two things happened at once. The air raid sirens began going off again, and a bomb went off so close to their location that the ground shook, tossing Trunks to the floor. Some warning... Worried as much for Gohan as for themselves, a young Trunks rose from where the old one fell. He made his way to the window quickly, pulling Goten back from trying to see outside of it and then shutting it tightly. Drawing the curtain over it again, Trunks felt more bombs exploding, shaking things again, though not quite as badly as the first time. Telling Goten to wait here, he sprinted to the shop and flung open the front door.

The orange glow of flames lit up the end of the street, and fire was shooting out of the windows and roof of a half-demolished building only four shops down. Trunks' attention was pulled away from the disaster scene by a dozen of Kaioshin's henchmen closing in around the front of the shop. He spared a glance toward the flickering danger one more time, quickly trying to gauge how much time they might have before the flames spread. The dark henchmen were moving fast though, so the young man sighed and slammed the door shut. He didn't think they were that great a cause for alarm now that he was indoors again, but the sound of a ceramic vase shattering made his blood run cold. He looked behind him and saw the shop filling with the glob-like forms... They were squeezing in through every crack, around the door and windows alike.

Something must be very wrong with Piccolo, Trunks thought as he slammed the shop's rear door shut this time and backed away from it into the courtyard. Dark tendrils began oozing around that door as well, but they were the least of Trunks' worries as a deafening sound roared above him. He looked up, past the swirls of embers burning in the wind, and saw the airship flying overhead release it's load of death and destruction. As he watched, bombs fell out of the sky, racing towards them. Unable to do anything, even move, Trunks watched them draw closer and closer. Then he noticed another form amongst the bombs, one made of fire and darkness, with wings covered in scales, but still possessing a mostly human torso. It latched onto the bomb falling directly above them.

"Gohan, no!" Trunks yelled, as if the sound of his voice could reach above the apocalypse. And maybe it could. When the bomb that would have killed them all hit the courtyard, it left a good sized crater, but didn't explode. All the other ones did though, and their blasts hurled debris and made the earth tremble violently. Glass shattered everywhere, all the windows being blown out in the shock waves. The building next to them erupted into a fiery inferno, tossing bits of burning things to float in the air all around them. As the explosions abated, slightly scorched wings unfurled and powerful talon-like claws released the body of the bomb, which was now wedged into the ground.

Before Gohan could even get all the way detached from the thing, Trunks ran up and threw himself around him, hugging him fiercely.

"You're ok!" he cried into his shoulder, then, "You could have been killed!"

"I'm sorry I'm late, I should have gotten here sooner... Shh, it's ok now" he said holding onto Trunks with one claw-arm wrapped around his waist, "Come on now, let's get inside." Guiding him with the transformed appendage still around his waist and his wing drawn over him protectively, Gohan lead Trunks back through the castle door. The henchmen had regrouped after the bombing though, and were right behind them. The magic of the ward strengthened when Gohan entered, and they were sucked back out the door empty handed. It closed hard after them, as if caught in the wind itself.

"Trunks! You're ok!" Goten said, hopping down off the sofa where he had been hiding with his head buried in Videls' lap as the bombs fell. He ran over, wrapping himself around Trunks' legs. Gohan headed first thing to the hearth, spreading a clawed limb over it and making a motion as if he was pulling up slowly and with great effort.

"Hang in there, Piccolo" he commanded as the flame began sputtering back to his normal color and self. Piccolo gave a wheezing sort of burp, and a dazzling spark erupted out of him, making a soft chiming noise as embers of magic floated back down around him on the hearth.

"Uhhhhhg, Gohan, she fed me something gross" he coughed a couple of times, and a cloud of sickly colored smoke puffed up out of him as he spoke, "I think I'm gonna be sick." Gohan turned from the fire to the witch.

"That wouldn't happen to have been a gift from Kaioshin, now would it?" Gohan asked her nicely, indicating the cigar and for her to give it to him.

"Well, if it isn't the great Wizard Gohan... You know, I think you and I need to have a little heart to heart" she said, blowing a stream of smoke into the air around them.

"There's nothing I'd like more than that," Gohan replied, not budging, "but there's a war going on right now."

"Hmm, not running away anymore... Highly peculiar for you, Gohan..." she said, finally handing over the last of the cigar by putting it out in his palm.

"Until later then" he said with a slight bow, vaporizing the rest of the cigar in his hand. Turning back to Trunks, he embraced him again, then spoke as he pulled back.

"Stay inside the castle; Piccolo will protect you from the henchmen but he's not strong enough right now to stop the bombs – I'm going to go stand guard out front" Gohan informed him. Trunks stood transfixed, he couldn't really mean to go back out into that melee? As Gohan began descending the stairs, Trunks was finally able to move again, and he ran over, throwing himself against Gohan's back and wrapping his arms around his waist.

"No, it's too dangerous, don't go!"

"Another wave's coming..." Gohan was only able to turn halfway in the stairwell, due to his wings, but he managed as much as he could and took one of Trunks' hands into his own.

"Let's run then, you don't have to fight them Gohan!" Trunks implored.

"I've had enough of running away. I'm sorry Trunks, but I can't do that anymore, not now that I've finally found something worth protecting." Looking into his eyes, he said "It's you" and raised Trunks' hand to his lips, kissing the back of it gently. Then when he released it, Gohan was gone in a flash of wings and scales, out the door before Trunks could even process it.

"No, come back you idiot!" Trunks rushed out the door after him, but he had already taken flight and was soaring away over the burning rooftops. A look of grim determination on his face, Trunks went back inside after seeing the henchmen honing in on them again. He stood in the doorway, with his hand resting on the handle, listening to it shake with the henchmen's attempts to get in. Making up his mind, he turned the dial to green, for the Waste, and then turned the handle. Nothing greeted him but rain, and the distant flashing boom of the battle over the city.

Running out into the rain, Trunks stopped at the crest of the ridge they were on, and peered out into the darkness. Though they were a long ways off, he could still make out Gohan's form in the battle. His now massive wings seemed to be laced with molten veins, and the fire of his breath was clearly visible in the night sky. He attacked an airship full of Kaioshin's henchmen, ripping through the top of it with his powerful claws and breathing a stream of fire inside the hole. Flames billowed out the ports and fastenings below him as the thing began to melt down, sagging pitifully before splitting in two as it fell from the sky. It was not the only ship in the sky though, far from it, and Gohan was being swarmed with enemy sorcerers as he fought. There were so many of them, Trunks thought, how would he ever overcome them all? A terrible fear of losing Gohan shuddered through him.

"What's going on?!" Goten called out to him from the doorway of the castle, waiting for him to answer.

Trunks turned around, seeing turnip-head patiently waiting in the rain as well. He made up his mind right then and there that if Gohan could decide to stop running away, then he was allowed to stop waiting as well. He had spent his whole life simply plodding along, waiting for the next thing that would happen to him, never really taking control... But not anymore, too much depended on this. Running back inside, he spoke to Piccolo as he grabbed a blanket off the couch, wrapping it over Videl and pulling her to her feet.

"You're crazy, only Gohan can move the locations of the portals, I can't do it on my own" Piccolo informed him as he helped himself to another log from the pile beside him.

"We have to try something, if Gohan keeps trying to protect the shop, he'll be killed. What happened to your normally strong self-preservational instincts?" Trunks asked him in disdain. He turned to Videl next as he spoke.

"Come on, we've got to get outside. Quickly as you can, please, Videl" he urged her on.

"Can I do anything to help?" Goten piped up.

"Here, help me get her outside, we've got to hurry now" Trunks instructed him.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Piccolo was on the defensive immediately at seeing Trunks pick up the hearth shovel. Goten continued leading Videl out the door as Trunks argued with Piccolo.

"We don't have time for your being finicky right now, if we can't change it, then we need to break the link between the castle and that house as soon as possible. You're coming with us" Trunks ordered him.

"We can't do that, it'll make us too vulnerable!" Piccolo hissed.

"We already are!" Trunks growled back.

"Trunks!" Goten yelled from outside the door, "They're about to bomb the shop!"

"Hop on, _now_" Trunks demanded, holding the shovel out next to Piccolo.

"I can't, no one but Gohan can take me out of this heart, it's impossible!" he sounded the slightest bit panicked.

"There's no time for this!" Trunks said, scooping him up forcibly and heading for the door.

"Hey! Hold it! Are you insane? If you take me out that door, the castle could collapse!" Piccolo tried to dissuade him one last time.

"Good!" Trunks said angrily, in no mood to listen to the demons' over-dramatizations, "Get back, Goten, we're coming out."

"Oh, god, Trunks, Trunks, make sure I go out last, I don't know _what_ will happen" Piccolo said nervously, eying the steps and walls as they went down.

"Ok" Trunks said, turning to back out of the doorway. The moment Piccolo left the archway, the scene inside seemed to contort and twist, like a fun house mirror, before crashing in around itself. The walls and ceiling became a jumble of broken beams and planks as the exterior structure wobbled, then began to fall as well. Cascading junk that was no longer held together with magic smashed against the ground, rolling and scattering as it fell. Steam poured out of it, dampened a bit by the rain, and several jutting pipes added little fountains to the precipitation as all Piccolo's hot water was wasted. The castle collapsed in a heap.

Trunks just stared. Everyone just stared; until Piccolo started complaining.

"Rain! Hello! I'm getting rained on!" he shouted. Blinking and looking down at the flame in the shovel, Trunks was broken of his shock. He hadn't actually expected it to _collapse_, collapse. Oh-Kay... Moving on then...

"Goten, help me find a way back in, turnip-head, stay with Videl, ok?" Trunks yelled, carrying the homeless demon back up toward the rubble.

"Over here, Trunks!" Goten called after only a few moments. Hurrying over, Trunks inspected the opening, seeing that it was indeed big enough for them to get in. He turned to tell Goten to bring Videl over here, but turnip-head had already managed it by somehow making her hop along with his own movements... Interesting... No time for that now though, Trunks reminded himself. Turning back toward the castle, he made his way in. The main floor, having a metal exterior, had held up better than the rest, which is to say it only looked like an earthquake and a hurricane had passed through, rather than those coupled with a freight train like the rest of the structure. Huge sections of plaster were missing from the shifted and leaning walls, and the floor was a mess of broken boards and various debris. None of the decorations or accoutrements of the previous room were still there, just a small stool that had somehow survived and some empty bookshelves that had not.

Trunks set Piccolo down in the hearth again.

"It's wet here!" he grumbled, but not loudly enough to upset Trunks. Grabbing the broken boards from the walls and bookshelves, Trunks piled them on the fire and Piccolo licked at them greedily.

"We have to tell Gohan we're not attached to the shop anymore, move the castle to where Gohan is" Trunks instructed Piccolo.

"What?" Piccolo gasped at the notion.

"I know you can do it, I've never seen a fire with more spark" Trunks replied sweetly.

"But, but there's no chimney here, and I keep getting dripped on, and the wood's all damp..."

"They say that the best burn brightest, when circumstances are at their worst."

"Yeah, but nobody really believes that" Piccolo snorted.

They were briefly interrupted by Videl finally making it over to the edge of the fire with Goten's help.

"Man, the castle's a wreck" he commented before dragging over the lone stool for Videl to sit on.

"Here you go, ma'am, why don't you sit down" he said still looking around at the damage.

"Thank you child... Oh, what a pretty fire..." she exclaimed as she sat.

"Ok, then" Trunks leaned back from the hearth, "let's deal." Crossing his arms over his chest he continued, "You need enough strength to move this castle, I need Gohan not to die" Trunks looked at the flame expectantly. Piccolo's eyes gleamed as he weighed his options.

"Alright, I'll need something from you then..." he tested the waters carefully.

"Like what?" Trunks asked right away, figuring it would come to this.

"How about your eyes?" the demon asked innocently. That didn't sit well with Trunks. While he was thinking, he fingered his braid where it had fallen over his shoulder... Hmm, it was worth a shot.

"What about this?" he said, holding out the length of braid in front of him with both hands.

Freely given.

Piccolo reached out instantly with two jets of flame that looked suspiciously like hands, using one to grip the braid, and the other to sever it, bringing Trunks' hair back to it's original shoulder length again. Devouring it hungrily, he sucked up the last bit of it like it was a noodle, even licking his lips afterward. As he digested it, the color of his flame changed, becoming a deep purple-blue. With no warning, he roared to life, growing to the ceiling and raising thick arms of fire to grab the broken joists and beams above them. He pushed up against the structure with a giant noise, and the castle suddenly began fixing itself. Toppled walls smoothed themselves, and the ceiling knitted back up as chunks of the old castle fell away outside.

From the mound of rubbish a smaller, single-room 'castle' sprang forth, and began running along on a pair of mechanical legs, spewing steam into the night at irregular intervals. There was still a rather large hole in the floor, and the entire thing creaked and moaned terribly, but it was working, he had done it.

"Thanks Piccolo, you're amazing!" Trunks shouted over the din.

"Imagine what I could have done with your eyes, or your heart!" Piccolo boomed, still blazing as tall as the ceiling.

"That's it!" Videl exclaimed to herself, "_You _have Gohans' heart! I've finally found it!"

Trunks was too busy trying to see Gohan's fate out one of the holes left in the building to notice her discovery.

"It looks like he's trapped, Piccolo, hurry!" Trunks yelled. Gohan was still visible in the distance. Hundreds of flying henchmen formed a hazy ring around him, with the darkest, most concentrated part being in the middle where he still fought on. In the blink of an eye, all of the thickest darkness around him was obliterated by a bolt of lightening striking right through the center of the battle, but more of the enemy were ready to swoop in immediately.

"Noooooo!" A startled cry tore Trunks' attention from the fray, and over to an even more pressing horror. Videl had scooped up the pulsing form that was the center of Piccolo, Gohan's heart, and was pulling him out of the hearth.

"Stop it, put him back!" Trunks shouted, running over to grab her. But she already had the heart grasped firmly in her hands before he reached her.

"Gohan's heart, it's mine!" Videl said with glee.

"What are you doing?! Stop it!" Trunks said, trying to hold on as the castle lurched. Videl refused to let go though, and the structure began to fall apart again at an alarming rate. The walking castle skittered about near the edge of the ravine they were passing, unable to keep it's balance properly as it deteriorated. As no doubt a last resort, the flame coming from the heart increased, going from a flickering glove of light around her clutched hands, to a robe of crackling heat that engulfed her.

"Gahhhh! It burns!" Videl shouted, falling against what was left of the castle wall as the entire thing tilted dangerously to the side. Trunks ran over and tried to pry it from her hands, being partially immersed in the fire as well.

"Let go, you're catching on fire!" he shouted at her as the flames licked her dress.

"No, it's mine! Finally mine!" she said manically, screaming in pain at the same time. Trunks couldn't break the death-grip she had on it. Letting go, he stepped back, glancing around him in desperation. There, only a few feet away, was a dented old bucket that was half-full of accumulated rain water. Grabbing the thing quickly he tossed the water on Videl, momentarily forgetting, in his panic, what it was that she grasped.

The flames stopped.

Videl stood there, shocked at the sudden break in the pain. Looking down, there was only the tiniest hint of blue lidded flames within her hands, no warmth to them at all. Trunks had no time to react to his recent actions as the room broke completely in two beneath him. The side where he had been standing fell off and down; down and over the edge of the ravine with a crash. The debris broke into smaller and smaller pieces with each smack against the walls as it fell.

"Trunks! Truuuuunks!" Goten screamed from the edge of what castle remained, watching him fall but being powerless to help; he hadn't yet learned how to fly.

"Trunks ruined it!" Videl began sobbing, still holding tightly to the heart, "He ruined it! My heart's ruined!"

The rest of the castle still spasmed in the direction of the town, though it was haphazard at best. Down at the bottom of the ravine, bits and bolts still clamored down occasionally to rest among the drifts of wreckage that had settled there. A small form was huddled on it's knees among the fragments. Disbelieving in his own survival, Trunks didn't move for many moments, staying curled up while his mind tried to sort through what had just happened. Images of Gohan and Piccolo flashed through him. He had thrown water on Piccolo. What if he had killed Gohan too? The thought was too horrible to bear... The pain in his heart forced it's way out through the first available medium, his tears. It was followed shortly by a retching sob as Trunks let himself collapse mentally as well as emotionally, clutching the back of his head in distress as he cried for Gohan.

In the haze of that particular fear that is brought on by powerlessness, Trunks felt a strange sensation breaking through his senses. If was coming from his hand, from his finger... More specifically, the ring on it. Gohan's ring. Trunks sat up with a blinking, teary-eyed start; stifling his breakdown with the back of his other hand as he brought the ring up where he could see it. Not only had the gem in it come to life just as he had when tracking Piccolo, but the sensation that had truly alerted him to it's presence was that it was warm, almost hot now, and beginning to glow faintly on top of it all. Trunks tried focusing on Piccolo / Gohan as he had before, and lo and behold, a beacon of light shown out from it. Could either of them still be alive?...

It pointed to a slab of siding that leaned against the mountain wall. Trunks was sure that Videl had not lost hold of Piccolo when the castle broke, but he wasn't about to argue with the magical item that had already saved him once, possibly twice, now that he thought about it. Hurrying over, he pried back the blockage until it fell over with a resounding thud, revealing the front door of the castle behind it. The frame, as well as enclosed door, was perfectly intact and stood up straight even though it had just been ripped from it's moorings. The beam of light continued to point to it, so Trunks opened the door. He barely had time to register the inky blackness on the other side as a blast of wind simultaneously stirred up the detritus around him and pulled him into the opening.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Swirling in the darkness, Trunks had no way of telling up from down or forward from backward. All he knew was that the light of the ring kept pointing in front of him, so he continued to try and follow it. After a few seconds he discovered that he could still 'walk' in the nothingness, seeming to get some resistance beneath his feet. An indistinct light was starting to form ahead of him, still too far away to be deciphered. He ran, somehow knowing he would find what he needed in this place.

The faint glow ahead turned out to be moonlight streaming through windows. The cut out of an unfamiliar room loomed in front of him, it's sparse furnishings washed in the colors of night. There was a small stove, single bed, and a large desk that was positioned in the middle of the floor. Books and papers were in some places scattered, in some places piled neatly upon it. In looking down at the studious notes and drawings, Trunks noticed that the ring now pointed to the side of him. Glancing out the window, he saw a familiar scene, field upon field of flowers...

Pulling open the only door in the room, Trunks ran outside to see the moonlit beauty of the valley being outdone by a shower of falling stars across the sky. Only they weren't stars exactly; one touched down on the ground across the lake, leaving a burst of light that faded slowly, but no damage to the earth. One plunged into the water near him, making a sound like glass shattering. Trunks eyes widened as he remembered the dancing circle of star-like beings that Kaioshin had shown him. It couldn't be...

Scanning the area, he noticed the figure of a boy walking around in the punctuated darkness, watching the fall and fade of the strange phenomenon as they crashed into his valley. Gohan. He couldn't have been more than 12. Trunks felt the ring grow warm again, hot, as it glowed brighter.

"I'm in Gohan's childhood" he said out loud, as if it would confirm it. Then he jumped down off the edge of the steps and ran toward him as fast as he could. At first Trunks thought the ground was simply really muddy when he couldn't get good traction, but he soon realized the entire place was not as solid as it should be. It spurned him to run faster. As he did, a spot of light hit the water of the lake to his left. For a moment, it ran on the water, keeping pace with him on spindly legs made of starlight, but it quickly succumbed and sank beneath the surface with a tinkling shatter, it's light dimming rapidly until nothing remained. Re-orienting himself to Gohan's position, he noticed the boy staring intently at a particularly bright falling spark, one that was headed straight for him.

About a hundred yards away from Trunks, around the bend of the lake shore, Gohan stood ready, hands outstretched as the concentration of light fell directly into his fingers. Streamers of orange and red flew off of it, and it glowed brightly enough that it illuminated every feature on Gohan's face as he spoke. Trunks was too far away to hear what was said, but the ring was almost painfully hot now. He knew this moment was important, that this was the bargain with Piccolo which sealed all their fates. Before Trunks' very eyes, Gohan nodded and slowly swallowed the spark, giving a single choking cough afterward. He hunched over, clutching his chest with a look of pain on his face. Then suddenly a softer, flickering light erupted from in between his fingers, and when he drew them away from his chest, a flame engulfed the pulsing piece of life in hands.

The ring burned. As in frying flesh, burned. Trunks looked down at it and gasped, trying to pry it off before he lost his finger. As soon as he got it off however, the world beneath him began to disintegrate. Shit. It was all connected... The pieces clicked inside Trunks' head as he tried to put the ring back on. It was like it had cooled immediately once off his finger, so getting it back on wasn't too difficult. It didn't stop the world coming apart though, and he sensed that his time was always meant to be limited here anyway. Forgetting about the pain, Trunks called out to them, hoping this was not a one way street.

"Gohan! Piccolo! It's me, Trunks! I finally figured out how to help you! Find me in the future!"

A startled young boy and a wide eyed fire demon stared at the spot where the mysterious stranger had disappeared from, even taking a step closer to the edge of the lake before realizing there was nothing to be done.

Trunks fell through the darkness until none of the light from Gohan's past remained. Then he began to see a dimness on what he guessed was the horizon, eventually making out that it was the front door of the castle he was speeding towards. This couldn't all be for nothing, Gohan had to still be alive, he kept telling himself. Involuntary tears floated in the wind that bore him along. He would be strong. It didn't matter if he was at the bottom of a ravine, or the ocean itself, he would find Gohan and what was left of Piccolo no matter what.

The door must have been left open, because Trunks was pushed right through it by the same wind as before. This time though, instead of only darkness waiting for him, there was a dragon. Trunks had never seen his full transformation up close, but he knew it was Gohan. Charcoal colored scales seemed to have veins of magma running underneath them, for his 'skin' virtually glowed with heat in certain spots. He was curled up on the ground, as if in total apathy to his surroundings, his eyes staring a thousand yards distant. One claw was flung over his wing as it bent around, and Trunks noticed for the first time the glint of the gem in the matching ring that circled the base of his talon. Brushing it gently with his fingertip, it began to glow as well. With a sigh he bent down to see Gohan's face where it rested on the ground. Cupping the powerful jaws that breathed death and destruction in between his hands, he spoke quietly to him.

"I hope I'm not too late; I'm normally a very punctual man" Trunks said softly, tears still streaming, "Can you take me to Piccolo, Gohan? It will all be over soon now, I promise."

The hulking body actually rose with surprising grace, though the dragon's eyes still never wavered or even blinked the entire time. Trunks took the offered limb and climbed upon his back, fearful but trying to be trusting as scales peeled and clattered off of him while taking flight. As they drew closer to Piccolo, Trunks could feel the ring growing warm again, and also Gohan's strength giving out. He could see what was left of the castle now, a mere platform with shaky legs, randomly walking the crest of a mountain. He was just able to make out that turnip-head was still with Goten and Videl when Gohan's head suddenly became Gohan's head. Scales began flying off of him like autumn leaves in a windstorm, and his body began shrinking, reverting back to it's human base. Normally it wouldn't be a cause for concern, accept they were still plummeting towards the platform, and he was pretty sure it meant that he was dying.

"Gohan! Please! Hold on just a little longer!" he urged him with everything he had. What was left of Gohan's wings gave three more flaps, slowing them down considerably, before giving out completely. They tumbled into a freefall for the last 20 feet or so, smacking into the platform hard. Trunks grabbed onto Gohan's now limp form, keeping his momentum from rolling him off the edge. As he de-tangled himself from their crash, he could still feel Gohan's shallow breathing. Thank the fates.

He allowed himself only the briefest of moments to be thankful they had survived the landing, and placed a gentle kiss on Gohan's slightly parted lips. Then letting his fingers trail across those lips as he stood, Trunks began limping his way over to Videl. Goten ran to him, hugging him and crying, asking if Gohan was dead. Trunks assured him that he wasn't, and finally pried him off by asking him to watch and make sure that Gohan didn't roll off the platform while he talked to Videl. Sighing, he focused on moving forward, this last fall had certainly taken a lot out of him. When he reached her, Videl twisted, as if hiding her hands to the side as he spoke.

"Gohan needs that back now" he started... Trunks was met with an immediate rebuff.

"I don't have it, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Collapsing to his knees in front of the witch, he put his arms around her and buried his head on her shoulder, imploring her,

"Please... Please, give it back..."

Videl's eyes softened, and the possessive scowl on her face slowly faded away. With a sigh, she realized true love and what it looked like, and her voice was much more gentle as she spoke the second time.

"All right,... If you want it that badly..." she pulled away from the hug and opened her hands, revealing the faintly pulsing flame within.

"Here dear, you take it then – I know you'll take good care of it" she resigned herself to the loss.

"Thank you, thank you so much, you have a big heart, Videl" Trunks told her accepting the heart into his own palms.

"Piccolo" Trunks said as he went back to Gohan, "If I give Gohan back his heart, what will happen to you?"

"I'm not sure" he said, eyelids drooping, "I think I'll be ok, if you do it... You dumped water on me and Gohan and I still survived, so I think it'll be ok... Just hurry now, I'm so tired, Trunks..."

"Ok then" he said, reaching his destination and kneeling down. Trunks placed the glowing blue orb on Gohan's chest, right where his heart should be, covering it with his hands and concentrating very hard on Gohan and Piccolo both living. There was a loud gasp. Opening his eyes, Trunks realized that the gasp came from Gohan. His eyes were open, and he was staring at the backdrop of Trunks' face behind the streams of light that poured from his chest. They consolidated rapidly onto a single, sparkling piece of starlight, and it went zooming around in the air above them.

"Alive! I'm alive! And free!" Piccolo's voice was heard faintly as he shot through the sky. Gohan smiled weakly at Trunks, and the platform collapsed beneath them. Everyone gave a shout, a few a scream, as they slid down the edge of the steep mountain, heading for a drop off with a distant river below.

"It can't stand without Piccolo!" Goten yelled, seeing the platform's legs crumbling where they still stood at the top of the ridge. Turnip-head made a quick decision, and jumped to the front of the sliding skiff, wedging his pole in front of it to try and stop their descent. His thinner wood began to snap off and shatter, but it did slow them. Trunks could see over the edge of the cliff now, to an outcropping that they would likely splatter against before falling to their deaths, but it didn't seem to be approaching as quickly as it should. Turnip-head ran out of room and strength, and the platform still had too much momentum to stop, going over the edge anyway. Due to their greatly reduced velocity though, the outcropping stopped them without the splatter Trunks had imagined; actually wedging them in between it and the side of the mountain.

"Turnip-head!" Trunks shouted, picking up the now lifeless form of the scarecrow. Everyone else looked to be in shock as well. Goten looked like he was about to cry, and Gohan's eyes were still blinking somewhat hazily in disbelief from where he lay.

"He saved us all... His pole snapped..." Trunks said sadly, still holding onto him. Farther up the pole, where the turnip was stuck onto the other end, was broken as well, making it appear as if his neck had snapped. Trunks couldn't help it, he began to cry, letting his hot tears fall onto turnip-head's jacket as he clutched his friend. Once the tears landed, turnip-head's remains flew into the air with a sputtering jerk. The air seemed to vibrate around him as he was first compressed and then stretched, settling to a heap of clothing on the side of the platform, before popping up suddenly and becoming a real man.

"Thank you Trunks!" He said with a bow, removing his hat to reveal a large swath of red-orange mohawk, "I am Tapion, the prince from the neighboring kingdom. I somehow got that horrible curse on me, and it looks like you were the one able to break it." Grinning broadly, Trunks jumped up and gave him a quick hug, overjoyed to see that he was ok.

"You were the one who sacrificed yourself to save us, I'd say it was your own actions that really broke it" Trunks replied.

"Now you can go back to your kingdom and put an end to this terrible war then" Gohan spoke up, still laying down.

"Of course, and right away. My friends, I can't thank you enough for accepting the shell of a man into your home and hearts, I am eternally grateful" he said, bowing again. Gohan tried to sit, but groaned and lay back down again. Trunks rushed to his side, taking one of his hands into the two of his.

"Are you ok?"

"Uhhg... I feel awful, like there's a huge weight on my chest..." he explained. Trunks smiled.

"A heart is a heavy burden to bear" he said, sweeping a bit of Gohan's bangs from his forehead. Nodding in response, Gohan reached up and ran his fingers through Trunks' in return.

"What happened to your hair, Trunks, it's so much shorter, and like the color of starlight, it's beautiful" he said, his eyes gleaming.

"It's a long story,... So you like it then?" Trunks replied, smiling himself.

"Yes" Gohan said, pulling him down to kiss him deeply. He had waited so long for those soft lips and gentle caresses, he savored every moment of it. As they embraced, their magic swirled around them, making their hair float up and ripple with power. Goten's eyes widened for a different reason now, and Videl put her hand over his eyes and pulled him away with a chuckle.

…...

Unbeknownst to them, the entire scene was unfolding in Kaioshin's crystal ball as well, as he chuckled and watched them from his chair.

"So Gohan finally found his true love, it's about time" he said with a knowing smile, then let the scene fade.

Only shortly after that, once they had all said goodbye to Tapion, a blue spark floated down in front of their party.

"Piccolo! You didn't have to come back" Gohan exclaimed happily. Trunks held out his hands and the spark landed on them, light as a feather, then transformed back into a flame as he spoke.

"I don't know, I kinda missed you guys – plus, it looks like it's going to rain later..." he trailed off.

"I missed you too, Piccolo" Trunks said, raising him up and giving him a quick peck. Piccolo's eyes wobbled with joy and his flame turned a deep crimson red in response.

…...

Many weeks later, after the war had officially been brought to an end, Gohan and Trunks finished putting the last few touches on their new and improved castle. This one had been designed not only to fly, but to travel amongst the stars just as Piccolo had. They had taken a couple test runs of course, but Gohan didn't want to go on their more extended trip without first saying goodbye to his Uncle Roshi properly. Walking with him over to the now familiar grave site, Trunks wondered what Gohan had meant by 'properly' that hadn't been covered in the drinking of that beer after the funeral... As they paused at the foot of the grave, Gohan reached into his jacket once again. Instead of a beer though, he pulled out a magazine. Puzzled, Trunks looked more closely at the cover, and then blushed. Propping it open against the headstone, Gohan stood back, smiling mischievously.

"Ok, love, now we can go."

THE END


End file.
